Consolidated audited business results of Slovenská sporiteľňa as of 31 December 2022 according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

„“It’s quite difficult to sum up last year. It brought back war and inflation; something that we had almost forgotten about. These created an insecure environment preventing people and the economy from functioning efficiently. Businesses are experiencing difficult times and I am pleased that we are lending them a helping hand. We are standing with them and as a result, corporate loans reached record levels. It is somewhat of a paradox that we were able to be successful in these challenging times. And I don’t mean just business results. We received two Bank of the Year awards and we maintain our position as digital leader – we introduced instant payments and the holographic banker Vesna. We launched Seed Starter, the first venture capital fund, which will hopefully improve the business environment in Slovakia. And last but not least, we are doing our part for the society, responsibility is in our DNA. Together with our foundation, we are delivering on  our public commitments, helping Slovaks, Ukrainians and recently also Turkey and Syria. In my opinion, this is what is important. To share our success with those in need,”explains Peter Krutil, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Slovenská sporiteľňa.
 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2022 (Y/Y COMPARISON)

BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW OF SLOVENSKÁ SPORITEĽŇA AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2022

Net interest income went up by 3.8% y/y from EUR 427.9 million to EUR 443.9 million. After adjusting for one-off effects of the TLTRO operation in the amount of EUR 12.9 million (income) in 2021 and EUR 6.6 million (cost) in 2022, net interest income grew by 8.6%. Changes in conditions for targeted long-term refinancing operations (TLTRO) of the European Central Bank were behind these one-time effects. The increase of net interest income is the result of growing interest rates following the tightening of monetary policy by ECB. The bank managed to translate this increase of interest rates into an increase of interest income from loan products. Simultaneously, the interest rates on liabilities did not experience a substantial growth.

Net fee and commission income increased by 10.3% y/y from EUR 147.3 million to EUR 192.2 million. Income from payments services saw a considerable increase (approx. EUR 8.2 million) due to switching to a single card company and so did fee and commission income from brokerage of insurance and investment into mutual funds (increase by EUR 5.3 million). Fee income from securities also saw an increase by EUR 1.4 million because of a higher number of transactions with clients’ securities.

The bank recorded a net profit of EUR 23.6 million in net trading and fair value result (it was EUR 9.8 million in 2021) which is mainly attributable to derivative transactions. This amount was achieved in times of high volatility on financial markets which were affected by the geopolitical situation and its impact on energy prices and exchange rates.

General administrative expenses went up by 5.0% y/y to EUR 307.1 million (in 2021 it was EUR 292.4 million). Personal expenses increased by 4.3% y/y, while other administrative expenses grew by 6.6% mainly because of higher IT costs. Write-offs grew by 3.7%. 

Operating profit went up by EUR 35.2 million, accounting for an increase of 11.0%. Cost income ratio decreased to 46.3% compared with last year.

The bank recorded a net impairment loss on financial assets in the amount of EUR 32.1 million in 2022; it was EUR 1.1 million in the previous period. The provisions are a precautionary measure related to the uncertainty on the market and expected negative impact of the energy crisis on bank clients. Compared with last year, the year 2021 was different in that the Bank did not have to create as many provisions thanks to the economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic. From a long-term perspective the total amount of provisions is still below average.

The share of defaulted loans on total loan volume decreased from 1.9% to 1.6% while the coverage with provisions improved from 117.0% to 124.1%.

The volume of loans products to customers (including loans, leasing and factoring) increased by 12.8% y/y and achieved EUR 17.9 billion. Retail loans were the major driving force; they increased by 9.7% y/y (by EUR 1.1 billion) compared with 2021. Slovenská sporiteľňa again confirmed its position as market leader in retail loans; its market share in retail loans reached 24.7% in 2022. The main growth driver were housing loans which grew by 10.5% (EUR 1.0 billion in absolute terms), while consumer loans remained almost unchanged y/y.   

Loans to corporate clients (including factoring and leasing products) increased by 19.9% y/y (by EUR 0.9 billion) and reached EUR 5.5 billion.

Retail deposits decreased slightly from EUR 14.02 billion to EUR 13.72 billion. Deposits from customers rose from EUR 16.0 billion to EUR 16.9 billion compared with the year 2021. 

Partial repayment of TLTRO in the amount of EUR 1.7 billion resulted in reduced amount of liabilities from banks; however, this was offset by successfully placing EUR 1.0 billion in own bond issues on capital markets, providing the bank with sufficient liquidity for further development.  

Current ratings of Slovenská sporiteľňa (as of 31 December 2022)

Slovenská sporiteľňa – Contact for media:
Marta Cesnaková; tel.: +421 2 48 62 43 60; cesnakova.marta@slsp.sk

Erste Group – Public Relations:
Christian Hromatka; tel,: +43 501 00 61 3711; christian.hromatka@erstegroup.com

Erste Group – Investor Relations:
Thomas Sommerauer; tel.: +43 50 10 01 73 26; thomas.sommerauer@erstegroup.com