The data, based on non-consolidated, Hungarian-accounting-standard figures, are for banks limited by shares and exclude the state-owned Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) and Export-Import Bank, as well as clearing house Keler. The data also exclude bank branches with foreign parents in Hungary. Among them are branches owned by ING, BNP Paribas and Citibank.
The extraordinary tax on financial sector companies ate into profits in 2010: banks’ combined “other non-interest revenue” — the line that contains the tax — came to negative HUF 343.2 billion in 2010 compared to negative HUF 84.3 billion in 2009.
The same item for foreign bank’s branches operating in Hungary rose from 2.8 billion in 2009 to HUF 15.1 billion, PSzÁF figures compiled for the branches show. (Data for the end of 2010 cover ten branches, with nine of them, among them the biggest ones, included already in 2009 data.)
Pre-tax profit of banks fell 76.3% to HUF 58.2 billion. The foreign branches had preliminary pre-tax profit of HUF 14.2 billion in 2010, down 70.3%.
Banks’ net interest revenue rose 15.0% to HUF 870.2 billion in 2010. Non-interest revenue fell 68.2% to HUF 172.2 billion. Operating expenses rose 1.8% to HUF 598.7 billion.
Net interest revenue of foreign branches fell 2.5% to HUF 80.8 billion and their non-interest revenue fell more than 85% to HUF 5.3 billion. Foreign branches’ operating expenses rose just 0.8% to HUF 52.3 billion.
Banks’ lending losses and risk reserves came to HUF 350.5 billion in 2010, down from HUF 442.5 billion in 2009. Foreign branches set aside HUF 18.1 billion for the same purpose last year, HUF 1.3 billion less than in 2009.
The ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) — those past 90 days overdue — in the portfolio of banks limited by shares came to 8.1% at the end of Q4, up from 8.0% at the end of Q3, 7.1% at the end of Q2 and 6.3% at the end of Q1, Econews calculated. Of the total, the NPL ratio for foreign currency-denominated loans reached 6.9% at the end of Q4, practically level with the rate at the end of Q3, but up from 5.8% at the end of Q2 and 5.2% at the end of Q1.
The non-performing ratio was much lower in the case of foreign banks’ Hungarian branches: it stood at 4.9% at the end of 2010, up 0.9 percentage points from a year earlier.
The NPL ratio for banks’ loans to non-financial companies was 10.7% at the end of Q4. The ratio rose from 8.9% at the end of Q1 and peaked at 11.0% at the end of Q3 before a drop started. The non-performing ratio was below the average for foreign currency denominated business loans: it rose from 6.8% at the end of last March to 9.3% at the end of Q3 and dropped to 8.9% by the end of the year.
Among loans granted by foreign branches to domestic businesses, the non-performing ratio jumped sharply from 1.3% at the end of 2009 to 3.8% at the end of last year, but was still a third of the respective ratio for banks.
Loans more than 90 days overdue made up 9.3% of banks’ gross retail lending stock at the end of 2010. The ratio has still risen from quarter to quarter from 7.4% at the end of Q1 although the pace of growth slowed in the last quarter. Here too, the NPL ratio was lower for foreign-currency denominated loans, it rose from 6.8% at the end of Q1 to 8.9% at the end of Q4.
The NPL ratio for foreign branches retail loans rose to 7.4% at the end of 2010 from 6.7% a year earlier.
Total assets of the banks came to HUF 28,157.3 billion on December 31, 2010, down 2.8% from twelve months earlier. Almost 55% of assets were denominated in foreign currency at the end of the period. Total assets of foreign bank branches totaled HUF 2,364.5 billion, up 13.0% in one year.
Net lending stock of banks inched down 0.7% to HUF 18,066.5 billion. Retail loan stock rose 7.1% to HUF 7,197.2 billion but corporate loan stock fell 5.2% to HUF 6,008.1 billion. Foreign currency-denominated loans made up 70.5% of all lending stock.
Foreign branches’ net lending stock rose, in contrast, 26.4% to HUF 1,126.9 billion with the corporate loan stock rising 26.3% to HUF 414.1 billion and the stock of retail loans rising slightly more, to HUF 517.9 billion.
The drop in total assets as well as in the lending stock may be bigger (the increases lower) if adjusted for the weakening of the forint which slipped more than 22% against the Swiss franc, earlier the most popular lending currency, and almost 3% against the euro in the period.
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