Consolidated, unaudited financial results of Slovenská sporiteľňa as of 31 March 2022 according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

„In terms of European security and economy, we are experiencing a situation that is quite new for many of us. However, the war and inflation did not have an adverse effect on our first quarter business results. They are solid - people and businesses are still taking on loans, we are also successful in the investments and insurance business which translated into an increase of operating profit. Of course, this is true for results as of March end and we will probably experience the negative impact of the growing inflation and expected economy slowdown later. I am pleased that we were able to launch instant payments in February, marking a new era of digital banking. It may not seem like a big deal, but it was one of the biggest banking innovations of the last decade, technologically and financially,” said Pavel Cetkovský, CFO and Member of the Board of Directors of Slovenská sporiteľňa.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS AS OF 31 MARCH 2022 (Y/Y COMPARISON)

BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW OF SLOVENSKÁ SPORITEĽŇA AS OF 31 MARCH 2022

Net interest income went up by 0.9% y/y from EUR 103.0 million to EUR 103.9 million. The contribution from TLTRO operations and a decrease of interest costs for issued covered bonds had a positive impact on this indicator. These effects compensated for the decrease of net interest income on loans which continue to be under strong competitive pressure.

Net fee and commission income increased by 19.3% y/y from EUR 37.0 million to EUR 44.2 million. Fee and commission income from brokerage of insurance and investment into mutual funds had a strong positive effect (approximately EUR 3.7 million). Income from payments services also saw an increase; this also includes the positive effect of switching to a single card company.

The bank recorded a net profit of EUR 4.7 million in net trading and fair value result (it was EUR 3.3 million in 2021) which is mainly attributable to derivative transactions.

General administrative expenses went up by 3.0% y/y to EUR 80.8 million (in 2021 it was EUR 78.4 million). Personal expenses decreased by 0.2%, while other administrative expenses grew by 6.5% mainly as a result of the increased contribution into the Deposit Protection Fund and higher IT costs. Write-offs grew by 4.2%. 

Operating profit went up by EUR 7.6 million, accounting for an increase of 11.6%. Cost income ratio went down to 52.6% compared with last year.

While the bank recorded a net impairment loss on financial assets in the amount of EUR 17.7 million in 2021, in 2022 it recorded a net loss in the amount of EUR 20.0 million.

The share of defaulted loans on total loan volume decreased from 2.4% to 1.8% while the coverage with provisions improved from 102.1% to 115.9%.

Consolidated profit after tax reached EUR 35.8 mil. EUR.

The volume of loans products to customers (including loans, leasing and factoring) increased by 9.9% y/y and achieved EUR 16.4 billion. Retail loans were the major driving force; they increased by 8.9% y/y (by EUR 1.0 billion) compared with 2021. Slovenská sporiteľňa again confirmed its position as market leader in retail loans; its market share in retail loans reached 24,6% at the end of February 2022. The main growth driver were housing loans which grew by 11.4% (EUR 1.0 billion in absolute terms), while consumer loans went down by 5.6% y/y (EUR 0.1 billion in absolute terms).     

Loans to corporate clients (including factoring and leasing products) increased by 10.9% y/y (by EUR 0.5 billion) and reached EUR 4.8 billion.

Retail deposits increased from EUR 13.6 billion to EUR 13.8 billion, providing a solid base for financing and room for further growth of the bank. Deposits from customers rose from EUR 15.4 billion to EUR 15.9 billion compared with the year 2021.