RAS income was substantially higher than the figure reported in line with international standards (IFRS), just RON34 million (EUR8 million), halved from the result in the first quarter of last year, which is unusual.
The different provision booking rules thus lead to different images over results.
According to data published by the bank, the weight of provisions in the loan portfolio rose by almost two percentage points, to 6%, meaning a volume of around EUR192 million.
The bank boosted its loan portfolio by 5%, a level similar to that of the first quarter of 2010, to RON13.3 billion (EUR3.2 billion).
“We are seeing encouraging signals in the falling risk costs, in the trend of macroeconomic indicators and in lending thaw-up, but the pace of recovery will be slow,” said Rasvan Radu, the bank’s chief executive officer. (EUR1=RON4.106)