Fourth and fifth came ING Bank, with gross profit of RON216 million, and Garanti, with RON93 million in net profit.
BCR, the largest bank by assets, returned among the most profitable banks in the system after a harsh restructuring, overcoming the shock of the RON1.2 billion loss in 2012. Garanti, a medium-sized player made it into the top five after large banks like BRD, Volksbank and Bancpost posted losses and others saw their profits plunge.
“The situation of the banking system is a good reflection of the situation of the economy. The low number of banks making profit is a vulnerability of the system,” economic analyst Aurelian Dochia says.
“The losses must be absorbed and banks cannot go on operating normally. Truth be told, loan demand has not been that good, either.”
The banking system posted almost half a billion lei net profit last year, compared with a record RON2.3 billion loss in 2012. Only half of the top ten banks made profit. Below the five most profitable banks is UniCredit Tiriac, RON75 million, which left the top five after its profit shrank by 60%.
Other banks out of those to have announced their 2013 results so far that posted profit are state-run Eximbank, RON50 million, Banca Carpatica (BCC.RO), RON38 million, Piraeus, RON15 million. State-run CEC Bank has not published its results yet, but according to the head of the supervisory department of the central bank, Nicolae Cinteza, it did end the year in the black.
The return of the banking system to profit was largely because of a special accounting operation, the freeing up of fiscal liabilities related to the risk provisions set up as required by the Romanian accounting standards.
Besides the decline in revenue from interests and fees, the losses many banks suffered during the crisis came from the accumulation of a huge stock of non-performing loans, for which banks had set up RON36 billion provisions (according to IFRS standards).
Aurelian Dochia says the non-performing loan rate, which is now at more than 22% may go down this year, after its growth slowed down in 2013.
“If the economy grows, banks will see a rebound, too.”
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)