Raiffeisen Bank posted EUR 45 million profit after tax for the first six months of 2014, compared to EUR 60 million registered in June 2013, said the bank in a statement.

As a reminder, the first half year of 2013 was influenced by the EUR 12 million one-off, representing fiscal liabilities release.

By comparison, the profit after tax registered for the first half of the year decreased by 6.2 per cent against the same period last year.

Total assets amounted to EUR 5.94 billion, increasing by 6 per cent compared to EUR 5.59 billion registered at the end of June 2013.

If we compare the numbers to the same period last year, total loans increased by 6 per cent up to EUR 3.83 billion, and the deposits followed a similar trend (+6 per cent), reaching EUR 4.3 billion.

The loan/deposit ratio currently stands at 89 per cent (remaining constant compared to June 2013).

„The Bank’s income remains at the same level as last year, respectively EUR 221 million, which is in itself a notable performance given the current market conditions. We have a strong risk and cost control system which allowed us to be more efficient in our daily activity. Developing a long term partnership with our clients remains one of our main objectives for this
year and I am pleased that our SME and Premium client base registered the highest increase this year”, said Steven van Groningen, President & CEO of Raiffeisen Bank.

Raiffeisen Bank’s total capital base ratio was 18.4 per cent at the end of the first semester of 2014.

In an economical environment which remains difficult, net provisioning charges increased to EUR 40 million compared to the first semester of 2013 (EUR 38 million) being mostly influenced by the provisioning in the companies segment.

On the other hand, the significant improvement of risk indicators related to the individuals segment is worth mentioning. The NPL ratio slightly increased to 8.21 per cent compared to 7.95 per cent in June 2013.

As a result of the measures taken by the bank in order to increase efficiency and diversify its income sources, the cost/income ratio reached 58.7 per cent compared to 59.9 per cent, at half-year 2013.

There is a positive trend, confirmed during the first half of the year, related to the fact that more and more clients use the electronic channels to operate their transactions – this also has a strong effect on the efficiency and customer satisfaction.

The Raiffeisen Online users rate surpassed the 100,000 limit (+22 per cent compared to last year) while the Smart Mobile users rate almost doubled (+93 per cent), reaching 13,500.

Raiffeisen Bank serves approximately 2 million individuals, 100.000 SMEs and 7,700 companies. At mid-year 2014, Raiffeisen Bank’s network counted 528 outlets (versus 524 in June 2013), over 1,100 ATMs and approximately 13,000 EPOS.

After the first six months of this year, the Bank counted 5,478 employees, compared to 5,427 as of June 30th 2013.