OREANDA-NEWS. Swedbank Lithuania’s profit for the six months of 2016 amounted to EUR 46m, an increase of 27 per cent compared with the same period in 2015 (EUR 36m).

“Swedbank Lithuania delivered solid performance in the first half of 2016, supported by positive trends in the economy. We saw continuous growth of the private loans portfolio, driven by households’ positive expectations as well as rising wages. Successful transition of Danske Bank retail banking services also had a positive impact on Swedbank’s loans portfolio”, said Dovile Grigiene, Head of Swedbank Lithuania.

Loans and deposits

Lending volumes increased by 7 per cent (EUR 296m) compared with the same period in 2015. The increase was driven both by rising credit demand in the private clients’ segment, and by transition of the Danske Bank retail loan portfolio. The total loan portfolio amounted to EUR 4.5bn at the end of Q2 2016.

Deposit volumes increased by 17 per cent (EUR 818m) compared with the first half of 2015. The total deposit portfolio amounted to EUR 5.7bn at the end of Q2 2016. The loan-to-deposit ratio was 80 per cent (87 per cent as of 30 June 2015).

Credit quality

Net credit recoveries amounted to EUR 1m for the first six months of 2016 (credit impairments of EUR 4m for the same period 2015).

Gross impaired loans continued to decline and amounted to EUR 96m at the end of Q2 2016 (EUR 118m in Q2 2015).

Revenues and costs

Total income amounted to EUR 92m for the first half of 2016, representing an increase of 4 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Net interest income increased by 8 per cent compared with the six-month period in 2015 and amounted to EUR 51m.

Net commission income decreased by 3 per cent (EUR 1m) compared with the first half of 2015 and amounted to EUR 34m.

Total expenses decreased by 6 per cent (EUR 2m), and reached EUR 40m during the first six months in 2016. The cost-to-income ratio was 0.43 (0.48 in the first half of 2015).

Swedbank Lithuania paid EUR 20m in taxes to the state budget for the period January – June 2016. Last year the amount of taxes paid for the same period was EUR 18m.