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August 2, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 23
bne:Banker Ukraine banks report
3.7-fold y/y jump in net profit in January-June
The net profit of Ukrainian banks jumped 3.7-fold to UAH31bn ($1.2bn) in the first six months of this compared to a year, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on August 1.
The result was attributed to a 20% y/y increase in net interest income of banks (to UAH39); a growth in net commission income by 17% y/y to UAH21bn; and a positive result from revaluation and from transactions on currency sale and purchase (UAH10.4bn).
Last year, the country's banking system as a whole returned to profitability for the first time since 2013.
Ukraine's central bank has transformed the entire banking sector of the country over the past four years after years of massive fraud. Specifically, the NBU has withdrawn the licences of around 100 lenders, many of them due to their involvement in money laundering, stealing depositors’ money or for having a non-transparent ownership structure.
Danske Bank has outlined plans to quit Russia by January next year after the Danish bank was rocked by allegations its Estonian branch was involved in a mind-boggling $230bn money laundering scan- dal, bne IntelliNews can reveal.
In a memo to his contacts, Russia Country Manager Edvin Kornelius yesterday said “goodbye to our Moscow corporate team” as well as part of the bank’s remaining St Petersburg personnel. Kornelius said the remaining Moscow-based clients will be supported out of
St Petersburg until the lender’s full closure in January next year.
Hungarian banks signed contracts for HUF81.4bn (€25mn) of new home loans in June, 4.6% less than in the same month a year earlier and 6.1% less than in May, according to data released by the National Bank on July 31.
Monthly home loan outlays fell from a high level in May, when they were the biggest since July 2003.
Hungarian lenders signed off on 108,000 home mortgages last year, up 13% from 2017. The value of mortgage loans surged 33% to HUF853bn (€2.66bn), including some HUF67bn in state subsidies, which was the highest since the crisis.
Growth in new home loans is fuelled by the robust demand for homes, which is pushing up prices. The rise in home prices accelerated from 14.6% in 2017 to 15.2% on average in 2018, according to data from a report by the MNB.
Danske Bank to exit Russia amid money laundering scandal
Hungarian home loan outlays down from May peak