K&H Bank's H1 2023 Results Up Significantly

K&H Bank's profit in the first half of this year was HUF 35.8 billion, up from HUF 9.7 billion a year earlier, driven by lending and an expanding customer base, the bank said at a press conference in Budapest on Monday. 

Guy Libot, CEO of K&H Group, said that despite the negative impact of the government measures, the HUF 33 billion bank extra profit tax, "the bank has again delivered a good performance."

He explained that in the first half of the year, the number of retail customers exceeded 815,000, which means that 5% more individuals were served compared to the end of the first half of 2022. The number of customers regularly transferring income exceeded 555,000, meaning that 7% more customers chose the financial institution as their primary bank.

Attila Gombás, CFO of K&H Group, pointed out that the bank's loan portfolio grew by 18% in a year, reaching HUF 2,713 billion. In the first six months of the year, the financial institution disbursed HUF 297 billion in new loans, of which HUF 38 billion was residential mortgage loans.

The corporate loan portfolio grew by 30% in a single year, so that by the end of the first half of the year the bank's market share in this segment reached 10%, compared to 9.1% a year earlier.

He went on to say that the financial institution plays an active role in financing Hungarian enterprises and large corporates, as well as in economic development and public financing programs.

The Széchenyi Card Program had contracted more than 160 billion forints by the end of June, while HUF 123 billion in loans had been disbursed under the Baross Gábor program, which represents a 15% market share, he detailed.

He also added that in June, cooperation was signed with the European Investment Fund, making available the EU guarantee program, which aims to boost the competitiveness of domestic SMEs and their investments in sustainability, innovation and digitalization, as well as to support job creation.

The bank said that there has been a shift in the retail savings market from deposits to investment funds and government bonds. In investment funds, assets under management increased by 32.3% to HUF 1,136 billion compared to the same period last year.

Nik Vincke, CEO of K&H Insurance, said that the group insurer recorded a loss of HUF 0.8 billion in the first half of the year due to the accounting of extra profit tax, compared to a loss of HUF 1.7 billion in the same period last year.

He said that all business lines showed double-digit growth compared to the previous year, with non-life premiums up 16% to HUF 36.1 billion and life insurance up 22%.