This comes after a record-high loss of EUR277 million last year.
The result is described in the half-year report of BCR’s supervisory council as marking “the delivery of ambitious objectives of getting BCR back on its feet,” but the gross profit made by the bank in 1H was just 0.4 million. The remaining amount up to the EUR127 million net profit came from an accounting move – postponed fiscal liabilities amounting to almost EUR128 million were registered as revenues.
But even so, the profit reported in 1H strengthened predictions made by majority shareholder Erste Group that BCR would restore its profitability by the end of this year after 2012 losses.
The losses of the largest bank in 2012 contributed to the historic-high losses of the overall banking system, of 2.3 billion lei (EUR530 million).
But BCR’s 2012 loss included the bulk of costs with personnel and territorial network restructuring, which continued into 2013.
The bank also set up large provisions, which can now help restore profitability as long as no major clients ask for additional provisions.
The restructuring of the bank’s corporate business was scheduled to be completed at the end of summer, after the retail segment had managed to change its organization structure and its sales strategy at the beginning of summer.
Parent bank Erste now says BCR will definitely be profitable at the end of 2013 and expects the restructuring measures implemented in the past year to fully show next year.
Romania’s economy is waiting for the country’s no.1 bank to drive lending forward after the volume of lending declined by EUR2 billion in the past two years.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)