BRE Bank posts massive zł.710 million 2007 profit

Its corporate banking division made a pre-tax profit of zł.444 million, up by 36% compared with 2006, while its investment banking arm contributed zł.131 million, an 8% increase. But earnings growth was most spectacular at its retail-banking arm, where pretax profit soared by 98%, to zł.227 million. BRE's loan portfolio totaled zł.10.7 billion last year, up by 44%, while deposits jumped by 31% to zł.7.8 billion. In 2008 BRE wants to continue the overseas expansion of mBank, its internet-banking subsidiary, by moving into three new EU markets. mBank proved a big success in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where it attracted 65,000 accounts and 45,000 customers in just a few weeks. The most likely target markets are Ireland, Germany and Hungary. In 2008 BRE plans to increase deposits by 17% to zł.14.9 billion and the loan portfolio by 42% to zł.19.4 billion. It wants to attract 400,000 new customers this year, bringing the total to 2.4 million. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9; Parkiet, p. 10) R.M.