The bank’s net banking income fell 5% to RON1.36 billion, mainly due to a 8.7% decrease in the net interest margin, the bank said in a statement.
“At the banking system level, the first half of 2013 was characterized by a sluggish credit activity. Consequently, BRD operated in an environment marked by weak demand for loans from both individual and corporate customers, which limited their investments,” the statement reads.
As a result, the total amount of gross loans granted to clients fell 1% on the year to RON34.85 billion at the end of June. Deposits, on the other hand, increased 0.9% to RON33.26 million, pushed up by foreign currency deposits.
“Cost optimization efforts led to significant reduction in operational expenses, of 8.9 % against the same period of last year,” BRD said. Moreover, the bottom-line was helped by a 7.8% decrease in the net cost of risk.
BRD, a unit of France’s Societe Generale, is the second bank in Romania in terms of assets. It reported total assets of RON44.97 billion at the end of June, down 6.2% from RON47.92 billion at the end of 2012.
Thursday morning in Bucharest, BRD shares traded 0.6% higher, slightly outperforming the market. (EUR1=RON4.4048)