Banking Sector Profit Falls 22% in H1

First-half after-tax profit of Hungarian banks slipped 22% year-on-year to HUF 685 billion, data released by the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) on Monday show.

Lenders' net interest income increased 7% to HUF 1,836 billion. Net revenue from commissions and fees edged down 3% to HUF 929 billion.

Banks' return on equity reached 11.8%, falling 4.3 percentage points from the base period.

Lenders' total assets stood at HUF 105,255 billion at the end of June, up 7% from twelve months earlier. Lending stock rose 8% to HUF 59,132 billion. Stock of deposits increased 6% to HUF 78,561 billion.

The NPL ratio stood at 2.1%, unchanged from the same period a year earlier.

The five biggest lenders had 74.1% market share, based on total assets. The ten biggest lenders controlled 92.4% of the market.

The domestic ownership ratio in the sector stood at 67.1%.