It said retail lending increased by more than 50% and SME lending grew significantly.
The bank reported an operating profit of RON740.9 million (EUR159.2 million), a volume of new loans of RON4.1 billion, and a share of over 20% on the mortgage lending market in Romania.
The bank’s net interest income grew 9.5% on the year in the first half, to RON962.3 million, net income from commissions and fees grew 3.1%, to RON349.4 million, while net income from trading operations decreased 0.9%, to RON187.8 million.
Operating revenue increased 7.1%, to RON1.54 billion, and administrative spending grew 12.8%, to RON800.7 million, the bank said.
The bank’s cost-to-income ratio stood at 51.9% in the first half, compared with 49.3% in the same period last year.
BCR’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio dropped to 6.7% at the end of June from 8.1% in December 2017. Its NPL coverage ratio reached 95.3% in June compared with 92.7% in December 2017.
Deposits from customers stagnated at RON52.48 billion in the first half of the year, the bank said.