Its overall banking income fell 43% to RON14.4 million, and its net interest income dropped 39% on the year to RON6.7 million in the first quarter of 2017, amid lower interest income on loans and interest income on securities.
The bank’s first-quarter loss is 27% higher than the level posted in the fourth quarter in 2016, amid a slowdown in activity triggered by merger-related preparations.
Compared with the end of 2016, overall assets fell 4% to RON2.4 billion, amid reduced deposit base attracted from non-banking clients on the backdrop of closing 18 units in December.
Operating costs dropped 31% to RON24.5 million, including a series of non-recurrent expenses triggered by the reorganization of activity (staff restructuring – the number of active employees fell to 545 in March 2017, from 827 in March 2016), by the type of compensatory payments and retention packages granted to employees, and by the merger process.
Excluding the impact of the above-mentioned non-recurrent expenses and of contributions to the deposit guarantee fund in the base year (2016), operating expenses saw a decrease of RON6.8 million (-23%), the bank said in its report.
Patria Bank and Banca Comerciala Carpatica merged on May 1, 2017, becoming a single bank which will still be listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and will be named Patria Bank. The new bank will be present in 73 towns and cities across Romania, through 111 units, has over 240,000 clients and RON3.816 billion in assets.
Patria Bank Group is majority held by private equity fund Emerging Europe Accession Fund (EEAF) whose main investors are the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank Group), the German Investment and Development Corporation (DEG), part of bank group KFW BSTDB (the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB).
Patria Bank Group includes Patria Bank, Banca Comerciala Carpatica, Patria Credit IFN, SAI Carpatica Asset Management and SAI Intercapital Invest.