ING posts record revenues, but sees profit down to 20m euros

ING, the Romanian branch of the biggest Dutch financial group, saw its RON-denominated profit fall by 20% last year, to 84 million RON (19.8 million euros) after the bank set up 250 million RON in provisions to cover prospective losses from non-repaid loans.
"The credit risk cost (with loan-loss provisions) will be lower this year. It is early to think about releasing provisions," says Misu Negritoiu, general manager of ING Bank. Banks have to set up provisions when they notice that a client has trouble repaying their loan, with the provisions being booked as costs, which leads to a lower profit. If the client is later able to fully repay the loan, the provisions can be released, and registered as income.
Non-performing loans reached 3% of corporate funding, but accounted for just 0.5% of mortgage-backed retail loans. The bank managed to see a significant rise in its operating revenues, which climbed by 30%, to a 695 million-RON all time high, although the balance sheet remained practically unchanged from 2008.