In four months, bankers make half of last year's profit

Banks have continued their race to derive an annual profit worth one billion euros, after they derived almost half last year's overall net profit, worth around 825 million euros, four months into the year. In March and April, the monthly growth rate of profits stood at over 35%, precisely at a time when the local market started to experience the increase both in the price of foreign-currency-denominated liquidity and in RON-denominated liquidity, against the background of the international crisis. In fact, players say the first four months of this year have been the best since their entry onto the market, although their expectations for the future are not very optimistic, given the international context. First-quarter data points to a high concentration of banking profits among the top-five players, with the BCR and the BRD making up almost 65% of the total. Thi ngs are very likely to remain the same, considering that medium-sized and small banks attempts to gain market shares have had to incur significant costs. Although headquarter rents are considered very high, banks continue to find space in the commercial areas, with the only rivals able to match them being drugstores, with whom they now share the best areas.