Record result of PKO BP. High interest rates helped
PKO BP, the largest Polish bank, achieved the best quarterly result in history. High interest rates, relatively low loan write-offs and the lack of reserves for Swiss franc mortgages helped. Other banks haven’t been able to complain recently either.
In the third quarter of 2023, PKO BP had over PLN 2.78 billion of consolidated net profit compared to PLN 253 million of net loss a year ago, when the cost of credit holidays and provisions for Swiss francs had a significant impact on profitability.
Good result of PKO BP
The result turned out to be 14%. higher than expected. In the second quarter of 2023, the profit amounted to less than PLN 600 million, but then it was heavily burdened by a large reserve for francs (PLN 2.47 billion). This time, the provisions for these ill-fated housing loans were not increased, although it was forecast that more than PLN 200 million would be added. Coverage of Swiss franc mortgages with reserves at the end of September 2023 was 71%.
PKO BP has never achieved such a good result before. So far, its highest result was in the fourth quarter of 2022, when it achieved over PLN 1.7 billion.
Banks are in a good situation
Not only PKO BP managers have reasons to be satisfied. The banking sector in Poland cannot complain about its financial results. Banks earn a lot from the difference between interest rates on loans and deposits. The government’s “Safe 2% Credit” program, in turn, caused Poles to become more interested in borrowing money for housing purposes.
After the first nine months of 2023, the net profit of banks amounted to PLN 21.2 billion, calculates the Polish Financial Supervision Authority.
This means a huge increase in banks’ profits. They jumped by 283.5%, i.e. almost four times. This result was PLN 15.7 billion higher than the result achieved at the end of September 2022 and exceeded the result at the end of August 2023 by PLN 2.5 billion.
The profits are not distributed evenly. At the end of September 2023, the total loss in banks that did not report profits amounted to PLN 6 billion.
The Polish Financial Supervision Authority does not reveal which banks do not generate profits and therefore are close to financial problems. However, he reassures us that their assets constituted a small part, about 1.2%. assets of the entire banking sector.
