1/1/2008

J&T BANKA’s balance sheet total grows 25 % against last year

The volume of clients’ finances grew by 3 billion against last year, reaching CZK 18.37 billion as of 31/3/2007. In deposits, the bank focuses on major depositors, to whom it offers attractive business terms and rates. More than 80 % of client deposits are term deposits and promissory notes. The bank’s net profit was CZK 73 million, in comparison with CZK 83 million in the previous year. The bank’s main balance sheet items and profit comply with its business plan, which expects post-tax profits at the level of CZK 180 million for 2007. The volume of loans provided and other receivables achieved CZK 19.3 billion, which is a growth of more than 30 % against last year. Interest earnings from loans provided were CZK 315 million, growing by more than 40 % against last year. A major part of the financing provided went to real estate projects. The bank focuses on project financing and real estate projects, which together with acquisition financing are the crucial segments of the bank’s business. To a large extent, the positive results of J&T BANKA are due to the results of its Bratislava office. The balance sheet total of J&T BANKA, a. s., foreign bank branch, Bratislava was SKK 8.28 billion, which is a high growth in comparison with the previous year. Clients’ deposits grew by SKK 4.19 billion against last year and reached SKK 4.87 billion as of 31/3/2007. The branch’s net profit was SKK 22.88 million, against a loss of SKK 9.5 million in the same period last year. The bank has successfully completed the issue of 15-year subordinated debentures in a volume of EUR 25 million in the first quarter. We intend to use the resources to strengthen the bank’s capital and prepare it for growth in future years. “The issue of the subordinated debt is a major step for us. It is very long money and while the volume of the issue is not significant, we see it as our first step toward future issues. We have a strategic interest in diversifying the sources of financing and issuing debentures in financial markets is one of our options,” said Štěpán Ašer, CEO of J&T Banka. The bank’s income from fees stagnated at the level of CZK 28 million in comparison with the previous year. The source of most of this income is fees for securities trading services. The volume of securities traded grew to CZK 134 billion, against CZK 115 billion in the same period last year. The bank is currently preparing to start providing securities trading services in Slovakia. Operating costs grew significantly against last year (CZK 72 million vs. CZK 56 million). Besides natural growth, which reflects the growth in the balance sheet total, the year-to-year comparison is also affected by the opening of a branch office in Slovakia at the beginning of the previous year. J&T BANKA, a. s., is a member of the J&T Group. It mainly focuses on the segment of private clients, whom it provides with asset appreciation and protection, project financing and business transaction settlement services. The bank’s headquarters are in Prague, it opened its Bratislava branch office in 2006. The J&T Group also includes IBI Bank, based in Zurich. In this year, the Group obtained approval for acquiring one of Moscow-based banks from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.