H1 Profit Increase at Raiffeisen Bank

Raiffeisen Bank Plc. closed the first half of this year with a consolidated after-tax profit of HUF 51.4 billion, which is 73% more than in the same period last year, the financial institution reported on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BÉT).

According to the company's business report, the main reason for the increase was the level of the risk cost being significantly lower than the previous year, the jump in interest income induced by the high interest rate environment and the increase in net commission income.

The level of the extra tax levied on the banking sector by the Hungarian government per group was also lower than the previous year, which also contributed to the increase in the result.

Net interest income exceeded the income of the same period of the previous year by 5% due to the still high interest rate environment and rising business portfolios. Commission income increased by 15%, mainly due to the increase in other fee income from transaction and payment services received from clients' currency conversions and securities transactions.

Operating costs exceeded the costs of the same period of the previous year by 12%, which was caused by the increase in wage and material costs induced by the inflationary environment.

The growth rate of the group's revenues exceeded its costs, so the value of the cost/income indicator improved to 30% in the first half of 2024.

The total balance sheet of the group increased by almost HUF 350 billion to HUF 4,779.4 billion, and its market share rose from 6.01% at the end of 2023 to 6.19%.