After-tax profit of Austrian-owned Erste Bank Hungary was close to HUF29bn (€75mn) in the first quarter, climbing from HUF6.3bn in the base period, spurred by strong retail activity, chairman-CEO Radovan Jelasity said at a press conference on May 8. State-subsidised lending programmes provided support for corporate lending.

Operating revenue rose 32% to HUF92.6bn, boosted by a 22% increase in revenue from commissions and fees, Jelasity said. Retail lending stock increased 8% in the twelve months to the end of March, while new outlays climbed 59% to HUF63bn in Q1, said deputy-CEO Laszlo Harmati.

The disbursement of new housing loans nearly doubled compared to the first three months of 2023.

Outlays of state-subsidised prenatal baby credit reached HUF10bn, while outlays of personal loans jumped 63% to HUF22bn, he added.

The cost/income ratio decreased to 32% by the end of March from 36% in March of the previous year.

The stock of corporate loans and bonds fell 5% to HUF1.1 trillion, while stock of retail deposits and investments rose 23% to HUF5.85 trillion.

The asset value of investment funds reached HUF2.4 trillion.

The NPL ratio decreased to 2.4% from 2.8% a year earlier.

In an earnings report released a week earlier, parent company Erste Group booked net interest income of €121mn at the Hungarian unit, down 18%. Net revenue from commissions and fees climbed 22% to €69mn. Total assets at the Hungarian business stood at €13.58bn at the end of March, down 4% from twelve months earlier.