BCR

BCR, a member of the Erste Group, is a universal bank dedicated to both retail and corporate customers. BCR is the leading banking organization in Romania, managing assets worth of more than EUR 17.5 billion. BCR is the most valuable Romanian financial services brand. The bank is offering a full range of banking services having 598 retail branches and agencies (for individuals and micro corporations) located in most of the Romanian cities with a population of more than 10,000 inhabitants. The corporate customers are serviced in 52 corporate commercial centres dedicated exclusively to SMEs and big companies. The bank provides to both retail and corporate customers a complex offer of banking products and services, including Internet banking, phone banking and e-commerce services. BCR issues 23 types of debit and credit card, and is the owner of the largest national ATM and POS network - over 1,600 machines and over 14.000 electronic terminals operational at the merchants, for card payments. BCR is currently the most important financial Group in Romania, with operations both in Romania and abroad developed by its local branches, foreign banking subsidiaries and representative offices. BCR is also holding top positions on the financial market segments for leasing, asset management, housing bank, equity and pension funds as well as insurance supported by its domestic subsidiaries.

Erste Bank Group is with its 53.633 employees one of the leading financial providers in CEE, serving over 16 million clients in almost 3,000 branches in 8 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine). As of 30 June 2008 Erste Bank Group has reached 214.2 billion EUR total assets, net profit of EUR 636.6 million and ROE of 15.2 %.

The group BCR has earned 103 milions euro through the control of the costs and the profit has increased with 82% at an increase of actives of only 2%. The slow increase of costs made that the net profit of the group BCR to increase in the first trimester of the current year with 82,4% compared to the same period of the previous year, tto 103,6 milions euro. In the same time, the actives of the bank have increased with only 2 % to 16,5 milliards euro, much under the level of the market, as it was written in the Financial Newspaper, cited by ECO.

Andreas Treichl, CEO of Erste Bank declared during a conference with the analysts that they have obtained exceptional results in Romania and Cehia. The operational revenues of BCR have increased in the first trimester with 48,5 % to the amount of 267,1 milions euro, while the general administrative expenses have increased with only 6,87% to 106,1 milions euro . BCR did not taken into account the expenses of restructuration in the first 3 months of the year. In the same time, the net revenues from interest rates have increased to 63,2 % to the amount of 185, 2 milions euro, but the net revenues from commissions have increased with 61, 9 % to 67,2 milions euro. As a result, the operational profit almost has doubled amounting the sum of 161 milions euro.

In this way, it has resulted a spectacular amelioration of the raport cost/ revenues from 55,2 % in the first trimester of 2007, at 39,7 % in the first trimester of 2008. In the same way the rentability of the personal capital has increased in a spectacular way, from 19,4 % to 30,7 % . With these numbers, BCR is positioned as the most efficient subsidiary of the group Erste, overpassing Ceska