According to the audited results, the bank holding company J&T FINANCE GROUP SE (JTFG) ended 2016 with consolidated earnings of EUR 61.8 million and total assets exceeding EUR 10 billion.
The year-on-year drop in profit was caused for the most part by a decrease in interest income. On the other hand, JTFG was able to substantially increase earnings from trading, fees and commissions, and, thanks to that, maintain sales at the same level as in 2015.
The group’s consolidated equity grew year-on-year by EUR 202.5 million (+15,7 %), and, at the end of last year, amounted to EUR 1 488.2 million. Standing behind this growth was mainly a subscription of unsecured investment certificates (perpetuity) issued by JTFG in the amount of EUR 200 million.
In September 2016, CEFC group took the first steps in the approval process in connection with the planned acquisition of a 50% stake in JTFG and submitted a request for approval to the Slovak National Bank. Due to the complexity of the process and the number of regulators that have to approve the transaction, the approval process is expected to continue right through 2017. The Chinese group currently holds a 9.9% share.
During 2016, the group optimised all client deposits (a decrease of EUR 582.5 million), which was also reflected in JTFG’s total assets. These amounted to EUR 10,052 billion at the end of the year.
JTFG also managed to expand its loan portfolio. Loans and advances provided to clients increased by 5.5% to a total EUR 5,657.5 million.
J&T BANKA also won the Private Bank of the Year award for the third time. The title of “Best Mixed Fund of 2016” was won by J&T Money investment fund. In Slovakia, Náš prvý realitný o.p.f. become the best-selling fund of the year, and two more 2016 Top Fund Slovakia awards were won by Krátkodobý dluhopisový o.p.f. koruna. Both Slovakian funds are from the investment company Prvej penzijnej spoločnost, which is part of the bank Poštová banka.