OREANDA-NEWS. April 24, 2012. PSB's net profit for the Q1 2012 is 2.7 billion rubles, more than 6 times the profit of 439 million rubles for the same period last year according to preliminary financial information and balance sheet published in the format required by the Central Bank of Russia according to Russian Accounting Standards, reported the press-centre of Promsvyazbank.

The main factors for the income growth were the significant increase in the net interest income due to considerable growth in the loan portfolio, as well as the effective cost control of the Bank which resulted in only a 2% increase in general expenses.

At the end of Q1 2012 assets totaled RUR 554 bln, an increase of 19% from the same period in 2011 but 1% below the beginning of the year. The total loan portfolio (before provisions and excluding interbank loans) increased by 19% compared to the Q1 2011. Net loans of the Bank (after deduction of reserves and excluding interbank loans) increased by 25% compared to the end of  the Q1 2011 but decreased by 2% relative to the level at the beginning of the year. The main reason for the decline was the reduction in factoring portfolio which, as expected, has a pronounced seasonal pattern. The retail loan portfolio has been level since the beginning of the year at 43 billion rubles.

To the end of Q1 2011 the growth of loans to individuals and legal entities was 23% and 19% respectively over the past year. A slight decline in corporate loan portfolio in Q1 2012 is seasonal in nature and already in March 2012 there was an increase in the portfolio relative to the data for January - February of this year.

PSB continues to maintain a stable share of customer balances as part of its liabilities (about 76%). At the end of Q1 2012 the share of retail deposits in total customer funds at 32% had increased by 3 percentage points compared to the same period last year (29%). Individual deposits grew by 32% over the past year, including 2% in the first quarter of this year. PSB considers retail deposits as a major source of funding and expects to continue to increase their share in its deposit portfolio by offering its customers an expanded product line through its larger branch network and attractive internet services.

The capital (‘own funds’ as defined by RAS) of the bank as at April 1, 2012 amounted to RUR 62.8 bln. The capital adequacy ratio (H1) is 11%.

Commenting on the published results, Alexandra Volchenko - First Vice-President of PSB - said: "The results shown in our balance sheet figures for Q1 2012 show that, despite seasonal factors, the Bank continues to successfully implement its strategy and achieve goals.”

Note: The balance sheet in accordance with RAS realistically reflects the results of operations in Q1 2012, but a more complete discussion of the bank’s results, including profit and loss, is planned to be held at the conference call with investors and analysts in late May - early June 2012, when the results according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will be released by the Bank for the Q1 2012.