Sergiu Manea, CEO Banca Comercială Română

BCR Group achieved a net profit of RON 2.32 billion (EUR 469 million) last year, up by 33% compared to 2022, driven by improved operating result, underpinned by advance in customer business.

“For BCR, prosperity is also built through financial education, beyond everything that means real collaboration with all customers and access to a complete banking experience. Today, we are celebrating 1 million Romanians who have been open to hold honest money discussions with us. 650,000 people have put their trust and stepped into the basics of financial education with Money School, while over 400,000 people have benefited from a personalised financial plan in the last year and a half through BCR’s financial coaching service. This data helps primarily to building value over time through financial education and smart financial choices. It’s the foundation we have for developing a society where people are more confident and able to achieve their financial goals. Further, our role is to deploy resources to support Romania as an economic force in the region by strengthening the local business ecosystem and developing human potential. Because absolutely all Romanians must have a fair chance to succeed and be valued in Romania, because we all need to be part of building country confidence and resilience,” said Sergiu Manea, CEO Banca Comercială Română.

Operating result improved by 17.2% to RON 3.2 billion (EUR 648 million) in 2023, on the back of higher operating income, partly offset by increased operating expenses.

Net loans and advances to customers increased by 6.2% to RON 58.74 billion (EUR 11.8 billion) as of 31 December 2023 from RON 55.32 billion (EUR 11.17 billion) as of 31 December 2022, supported by both retail and corporate segments.

In retail banking business, BCR generated total new loans to individuals and micro businesses of RON 8.7 billion in 2023, with a 57% year-on-year increase in the loans stock for micro-enterprises. The stock of standard mortgage loans (Casa Mea) in local currency increased by 3.4% yoy, while the stock of unsecured consumer loans (including credit cards and overdrafts) increased by 6.1% yoy.

In corporate banking business, BCR approved new corporate loans of RON 11.6 billion in 2023, of which approximately 30% are aimed for investments. The stock financing granted by BCR Bank to the SME sector increased by 6.1% year-on-year as of 31 December 2023.

In 2023, the total BCR Leasing financing portfolio granted to customers amounts RON 4.1 billion (EUR 829 million), with a 17% increase in new financing compared to 2022. BCR’s leasing subsidiary continued to support the Romanian entrepreneurial environment, financing more than 11,000 companies in 2023 alone. The financed companies are from different fields of activity, and they are creating more than 250,000 jobs.

With a dynamic customer portfolio and a strategy to support electromobility, which encourages the purchase of electric cars, BCR Leasing registered a 67% increase in sales volume for green financing in 2023.

In 2023, BCR Social Finance financed more than 1,700 micro-enterprises and NGOs, supporting more than 4,800 jobs. Involvement in the development of the NGO environment also continued with the launch of AmpliFY NGO, a multi-year project to increase the impact of NGOs in Romania, providing access to an extensive network of resources, potential partners and mentors, as well as educational programs aimed at developing the capacity of the civil society organizations.

In addition, in 2023, BCR Social Finance IFN S.A. granted 138 StudyUP loans for continuing education through university, master, doctorate, or specialization courses, supporting lifelong learning.

INNOVX-BCR, the technology business initiative, has reached 185 accelerated start-ups out of 3,119 applicants, with the completion of the bootcamp dedicated to the SCALEUPS 2023 cohort.

At the end of 2023, BCR also announced the launch of BCR Seed Starter, the first corporate venture capital (CVC) company of a Romanian bank dedicated to equity investments in technology startups. With a financial commitment to invest EUR 5 million over the next five years, BCR Seed Starter aims to provide capital for a portfolio of innovative startups that have the potential to optimize internal banking processes, improve the portfolio of services offered to BCR customers or support the integration of ESG standards.

Deposits from customers increased by 3.8% to RON 78.48 billion (EUR 15.77 billion) as of 31 December 2023 from RON 75.58 billion (EUR 15.27 billion) as of 31 December 2022, supported by the increase in both retail and corporate deposits.

BCR offers a full range of financial products and services through a network of 20 business centres and 18 mobile offices dedicated to companies and 318 retail units located in most of the country’s cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, where 63% of units are cashless. BCR is Romania’s No.1 bank in the transaction banking market, with BCR customers having the largest national network of ATMs and multifunctional machines – almost 2000 machines, and full banking services through Internet banking, Mobile banking, Phone-banking and E-commerce.

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