Profit rose to 756 million lei (€224 million) from 650 million lei in 2005, Banca Comerciala Romana SA, which was bought by Austria’s Erste Bank AG last year, said in an e-mailed statement. „The main motor of the improvement was the powerful growth of loans to clients,” the bank said in the statement. „This generated a significant increase in interest income.”
Consumer loans soared an annual 55% in the first nine months as rising wages made citizens more creditworthy and a stronger local currency made loans in foreign currency easier to repay. Romania’s currency, the leu, gained 21% against the dollar and 8.9% against the euro last year amid an inflow of investment after the country prepared to join the European Union on January 1. Wages also jumped an annual 30% in December.
BCR said revenue from consumer lending increased 20% last year as its loan portfolio increased 54% to 24.6 billion lei. The bank’s net assets rose 39% to 47 billion lei as of the end of last year, BCR said. Deposits by clients increased 26% to 24.5 billion lei. Austria’s Erste Bank paid €3.75 billion ($4.9 billion) last year for a 61.9% stake in BCR. The Romanian bank has predicted costs of integrating with Erste at €105 million. (Bloomberg)
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