BCP’s profits in Poland fall 89% penalized by provisions
The accounts of the bank held at 50.1% by BCP were pressured by the costs related to the integration costs of the Euro Bank, the credits in Swiss francs and the pandemic.
BCP saw the profits of its Polish unit, Bank Millennium, fall 89% year-on-year in the first quarter to 18.1 million zlotys (4.2 million euros). In the previous quarter, profits were down (26%). Once again it was the need to establish provisions that penalized the results in the first three months of the year.
There was a “55.3 million zlotys (12.7 million euros) increase of provisions related to foreign exchange (FX) mortgages legal risks,” but also “60 million zlotys of preemptive Covid-19 related provisions,” can be read in the communiqué sent to the Portuguese regulator (CMVM). These provisions are a way for the Polish bank to safeguard itself from the impact of defeats in court before clients who have made such claims mostly in Swiss francs.
The accounts of the bank held at 50.1% by BCP continue to be pressured by the integration costs related to Euro Bank – 30.1 million zlotys (6.9 million euros) and appropriate synergies of 24 million zlotys (5.5 million euros).
In terms of operational indicators, Millennium showed year-on-year growth of 24% in operating income, a 38% increase in net interest income to 689.6 million zlotys and commissions amounted to 194.5 million zlotys, figures that exceeded analysts’ expectations.
