Net profit of BRE Bank Group exceeded PLN 1.2 billion, which represents a rise by 6% compared to the very good 2011. The number of clients serviced by mBank and MultiBank exceeded 4.1 million. Moreover, BRE is continuously enhancing its effectiveness - the cost to income ratio stood at 46.4% in 2012.
It was the best year in the history of BRE Bank. For the first time we earned PLN 1.2 billion and for the first time in years we plan to recommend the payment of dividend, says Cezary Stypułkowski, BRE's CEO. The decision is motivated by very good capital standing of BRE. At the end of 2012, the capital adequacy ratio stood at 18.7%. Moreover, the bank is ready to comply with the Basel III requirements, he adds.The funding structure of BRE Bank has been improving from one quarter to the next. Within the last 2 years, the value of loans advanced in Swiss francs was reduced by 10%. In addition, the funding structure was diversified thanks to the EUR 500 million eurobond issue executed in H2 2012. The loans/deposit ratio decreased to 116% from 125% a year ago.2013 will be another landmark in the history of BRE Bank. In the first half of the year we will launch new mBank which combines user-friendly internet banking with cutting-edge technological solutions useful to our clients. In the second half of 2013, our group will start operating under the joint mBank brand, unveils Cezary Stypułkowski.
Corporate Banking
In Q4 alone, Corporate Banking made a profit before income tax of PLN 151.4 million, compared to PLN 109.9 million in Q3.Throughout 2012, the number of companies serviced by BRE Bank was growing steadily to reach almost 15.1 thousand at the end of the year, which is by 8% more compared to 2011, says Przemysław Gdański, member of the management board of BRE Bank, head of corporate banking. The surge in profit was driven not only by a higher number of corporate clients, but also by continued development of relations with the existing clients, he adds. Mr. Gdański says this can be evidenced by the number of clients using the most sophisticated cash pooling solutions which grew by 13.6% in 2012.Moreover, in 2012 BRE Bank launched numerous product innovations dedicated to corporate clients. For example, BRE introduced iBRE News, an information service providing the clients logged into the transactional system with access to market information tailored to their specific needs. In November, the bank introduced a range of improvements and new solutions in iBRE FX, the currency exchange platform.
Retail Banking
In Q4 2012, Retail Banking generated a profit before income tax of nearly PLN 180 million. The result was by 17% lower compared to the average quarterly figure, reflecting the intensive deposit campaign of BRE Bank. From January to December 2012, Retail Banking made a profit before income tax of PLN 860 million.In the lending area, the falling sales of mortgage loans have been compensated for by continuously rising sales of non-mortgage loans. In 2012, we advanced nearly PLN 3.3 billion of non-mortgage lending, which reflects an increase by 1 billion compared to 2011. Our plan is to maintain this sales level in 2013, says Cezary Kocik, member of the management board, head of retail banking.Last year, our efforts were also focused on acquisition, which resulted in a 200 thousand rise in the number of retail clients, adds Mr. Kocik.In 2012, mBank and MultiBank focused on innovations: the first Polish scheme allowing clients to save while they spend (mSaver and MultiSaver) attracted more than 190 thousand clients. Bearing in mind that BRE was the first bank in Poland to launch such a product and that the clients had little awareness of this type of products at that time, I consider it a big success, says Cezary Kocik and adds that in 2012 the retail arm of BRE Bank also put a great emphasis on deposits. Although the promotional deposits offered to retail clients increased our interest costs, they greatly contributed to improving the funding structure. In the period of Q4 we managed to attract PLN 4.5 billion in deposits, which increased the retail deposit base by almost 16%, he explains.In Q4 2012, mBank and MultiBank, in co-operation with Orange and T-Mobile, were the first in Poland to offer mobile payments using the NFC (near field communication) technology.What is more, there are already 13.4 thousand holders of credit cards linked to the Miles&More programme, introduced in 2012, who have by now earned 89 thousand free miles thanks to their card transactions.