Bigbank's total gross loan portfolio grew to a record 1.9 billion euros by the
end of the quarter, increasing by 154 million euros (+9%) quarter on quarter and
by 390 million euros (+26%) year on year. All three main product lines posted
solid quarter-on-quarter growth. The corporate loan portfolio grew by 57 million
euros (+10%) to 657 million euros, the housing loan portfolio by 62 million
euros (+16%) to 456 million euros and the consumer loan portfolio by 40 million
euros (+5%) to 802 million euros.
On the deposit side, the term deposit portfolio grew significantly, increasing
by 145 million euros to 1.16 billion euros (+14%) in the second quarter. The
savings deposit portfolio decreased by 43 million euros over the quarter to
1.09 billion euros, mainly because many of our customers switched their short-
term savings products to 1- to 6-month term deposits to lock in an attractive
interest rate for the chosen period. The Group's total deposit portfolio grew by
103 million euros (+5%) over the quarter and by 658 million euros (+41%) over
the year to 2.26 billion euros.
Bigbank ended the first half of 2024 with a net profit of 15.8 million euros,
compared with 17.0 million euros in the first half of 2023. In the second
quarter, Bigbank earned a net profit of 9.4 million euros. Compared to the
second quarter of 2023, net profit increased by 2.1 million euros (+28%).
Group's net interest income increased: net interest income for the second
quarter of 2024 was 25.0 million euros (Q2 2023: 24.2 million euros), 0.8
million euros (+3%) higher than a year earlier. Net interest income for the
first half of 2024 was 51.4 million euros, an increase of 4.7 million euros
(+10%) year on year.
The decline in the quality of the consumer and corporate loan portfolios
observed in the first quarter slowed in the second quarter. However, compared
with 2023, the quality of these portfolios is weaker and the proportion of non-
performing loans has increased slightly. The housing loan portfolio maintains
excellent quality.
Compared to the end of the first quarter, stage 3 (non-performing) loans
increased by 9.9 million euros, reaching 4.8% of total loan receivables by the
end of the second quarter (end of Q1: 4.7%). Compared to the end of 2023, stage
3 loans increased by 42.1 million euros. However, based on historical data, the
share of stage 3 loans is still low at 5% and Bigbank aims to keep the non-
performing portfolio below this limit.
Net loss allowances for loans and provision expenses totalled 6.3 million euros.
This is a significant decrease (-2.7 million euros) compared to the first
quarter (9.0 million euros). In the second quarter of 2023, total net loss
allowances for loans and provision expenses amounted to 5.0 million euros, an
increase of 1.2 million euros compared to the prior year.
The Group's income tax expense increased by 0.7 million euros to 1.8 million
euros compared to the second quarter of 2023. The increase was mainly driven by
the introduction of advance income tax in Latvia at the end of 2023, which was
only reflected in the figures for the fourth quarter in 2023, but affects all
quarters in 2024.
Bigbank updated its product range with the launch of a new credit card in
Latvia. This is a further step in the introduction of everyday banking products,
which is one of the Group's key strategic focus areas in 2024.
The Group's investment property portfolio, which includes both agricultural land
and commercial real estate, stood at 49 million euros at the end of the second
quarter. The Group did not conduct any significant transactions with investment
properties during the quarter.
Income statement, in thousands of euros Q2 2024 Q2 2023 6M 2024 6M 2023
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net interest income 24,981 24,181 51,373 46,700
Net fee and commission income 2,245 2,046 4,409 4,019
Net income (loss) on financial assets 2,007 439 3,078 1,011
Net other operating income -977 -536 -1,826 -653
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Total net operating income 28,256 26,130 57,034 51,077
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Salaries and associated charges -6,351 -5,963 -12,763 -11,615
Administrative expenses -2,285 -3,790 -5,954 -7,313
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment -2,100 -1,347 -4,152 -2,360
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total expenses -10,736 -11,100 -22,869 -21,288
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Provision income (expense) 1,090 56 -1,329 61
Gain on change in the fair value of investment
properties 0 -1,022 0 -1,022
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit before loss allowances 18,610 14,064 32,836 28,828
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net loss allowances on loans and financial
investments -7,328 -5,053 -13,883 -8,962
Profit before income tax 11,282 9,011 18,953 19,866
Income tax expense -1,857 -1,169 -3,132 -2,282
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Profit for the period from continuing
operations 9,425 7,842 15,821 17,584
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Income (loss) from discontinued operations 8 -497 29 -618
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit for the period 9,433 7,345 15,850 16,966
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Statement of
financial position,
in thousands of 31 Dec 2023
euros 30 June 2024 31 March 2024 (restated) 30 June 2023
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash and cash
equivalents 626,081 652,065 518,672 297,194
Debt securities at
FVOCI 9,907 13,586 15,400 14,877
Loans to customers 1,902,001 1,747,606 1,662,002 1,512,110
Other assets 89,255 89,823 91,324 91,116
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Total assets 2,627,244 2,503,080 2,287,398 1,915,297
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer deposits
and loans received 2,264,137 2,161,463 1,946,314 1,607,328
Subordinated notes 88,148 76,476 76,109 66,014
Other liabilities 22,113 21,688 20,182 17,066
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total liabilities 2,374,398 2,259,627 2,042,605 1,690,408
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equity 252,846 243,453 244,793 224,889
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total liabilities
and equity 2,627,244 2,503,080 2,287,398 1,915,297
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary by Martin Länts, chairman of the management board of Bigbank AS:
For Bigbank, the second quarter and the first half of 2024 have been a period of
stable profitable growth. As a bank specialising in loans, we are pleased that
the loan portfolio grew by 9% in the last quarter and by as much as 26% on the
yearly bases. All three main product lines - business loans, home loans and
consumer loans - have grown. We are pleased with the good sales performance of
home loans across the Baltics. As an innovation, we were the first in Estonia to
launch a flipping loan designed specifically for legal entity real estate
investors, which can be used to buy and renovate apartments in Tallinn, Tartu or
Pärnu for resale on a cycle of up to one year.
In the field of bank deposits, Bigbank offers clearly the best interest rates on
the Estonian market for both personal savings deposits (3.3% on an annual basis)
and 3-month and 6-month term deposits (both 4% on an annual basis). This trend
is also reflected in the growth of the group's deposit portfolio - 5% quarter-
on-quarter and 41% year-on-year. In terms of deposit rates, it is likely that
the peaks of this economic cycle have now been reached and, in the light of the
policy of interest rate cuts initiated by the European Central Bank, it is now
prudent for depositors to fix higher rates for as long as possible in order to
achieve a monetary gain.
As a further step on the road to everyday banking services, we launched a credit
card product in Latvia. In the second quarter, we also launched a large-scale
recruitment campaign to prepare both the software development and the
organisation support for the launch of the next everyday banking products, first
in Estonia and then in the Group's other operating markets.
To finance growth, we raised capital in the second quarter through the issuance
of EUR 4.96 million of AT1 bonds and a second series of EUR 7
million of unsecured subordinated bonds. I would like to thank all the investors
who participated in the fundraising for their confidence in the Bank's strategy
and growth prospects.
Bigbank AS (www.bigbank.eu) is an Estonian capital-based bank specialising in
loans and deposits for private and business customers. In addition to operations
in Estonia, the bank has branches in Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, and
Bulgaria and offers its products on a cross-border basis in Austria, Germany,
and the Netherlands. Bigbank's total assets exceed 2,5 billion euros.
Argo Kiltsmann
Member of the Management Board
Telephone: +372 5393 0833
Email: argo.kiltsmann@bigbank.ee
www.bigbank.ee
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