OREANDA-NEWS. July 13, 2010. According to preliminary data AB DnB NORD Bankas earned a pre-tax operating profit before provisions of LTL 70.4 million in the first six months of 2010, however taking into account the impact of sluggish domestic demand and depressed labor market on individual and corporate customers, the bank continued to pursue a conservative customer risk valuation and set aside LTL 200 million in provisions in the first six months of 2010, reported the press-centre of DnB NORD Bankas.

As a result AB DnB NORD Bankas recorded LTL 129.6 million pre-tax losses in the first six months of 2010.

In the same period of 2009 AB DnB NORD Bankas recorded LTL 165.6 million pre-tax losses after setting aside LTL 294.6 million for special provisions.

„The operating environment is balancing out however we still have to spend very serious efforts and resources to help our customers serve their liabilities through restructuring as depressed domestic demand and high unemployment continues to negatively affect some of our corporate and individual clients and, as the result, the quality of the bank’s loan portfolio. On the other hand we see signs of increasing business activity among customers oriented to export markets, stable performance of agricultural sector and the first signs of market recovery in mortgage market segment,” said Werner Schilli, president and chairman of the management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

Due to the constant focus on further improvement of operating efficiency and productivity AB DnB NORD Bankas first-half operating expenses were slimmed 5.3 percent year-on-year to LTL 79.1 million. That helped the bank to ease the impact of declining income, which totaled LTL 157, 3 million in the first six months of 2010, on the financial result.
AB DnB NORD Bankas net loan portfolio made LTL 9.6 billion as at the end of June. Due to the decrease of credit volume extended last year and special provisions made, the bank's net loan portfolio eased 7.3 percent during the first six months of the year.

With an increasing number of customers and growing funds on large corporate deposit accounts, the bank’s deposit portfolio rose by 19.3 percent in the first six months of the year up to LTL 4.1 billion as at the end of June 2010. In line with implementation of the bank’s customer promise to be a financial guide and a rising number of customers who choose DnB NORD as their home bank, the number of individual and corporate customers rose by almost 20 thousand during the first six months of the year to 690 thousand.

Due to proper risk management AB DnB NORD Bankas met all prudential requirements of the Bank of Lithuania. AB DnB NORD Bankas is assigned „A“level long term borrowing rating with stable outlook by international FitchRatings agency at the country‘s ceiling currently set by the agency.