Windfall Profit Tax Impact at Erste Bank Hungary

Austrian-owned Erste Bank Hungary booked a first-quarter loss of HUF 5 billion as new rules required the lender to book the full-year windfall profit tax in Q1, chairman-CEO Radovan Jelasity said on Wednesday.

Erste Bank had after-tax profit of HUF 20 billion in the base period, he noted.

Retail lending stock rose 17% to HUF 2,892 billion in the twelve months to the end of March as outlays surged 74% to HUF 153 billion. Outlays included HUF 91 billion of mortgage loans and HUF 44 billion of personal loans.

Subsidized Home Start loans for first-time buyers remained the main driving force for retail lending growth, said László Harmati, the deputy-CEO for the retail business said.

Stock of corporate loans and bonds increased 7% to HUF 1,128 billion as outlays climbed 70% to HUF 41 billion.

The Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio edged down 0.4 percentage points to 1.5%.