BCR, BRD-SocGen, Banca Transilvania, Raiffeisen Bank and UniCredit groups posted about RON853 million profit together in the first quarter, 13.5% higher than in the year-ago period, while their total assets rose by 10.4% to RON221.6 billion.
The banking system assets had gone up to RON377 billion at the end of last year, the highest level in eight years, while profit reached a record RON4.9 billion, the same as in the 2008, the last year of economic boom.
Both return on assets and return on equity were in positive territory at the end of March 2016, 1.26% and 11.7%.
The solvency ratio, one of the most important indicators Romania’s central bank monitors, as it shows how well capitalized a lender is, stood at 19.5%, much higher than the minimum requirement of 10%. This means banks have enough room to step up lending.
Total lending rose by only 2.8%, driven by the leu lending, which increased by 20%, while euro loans saw an 11.5% decline. (EUR1=RON4.5194)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)