The net profit of Alfa-Bank (Kyiv) in January-March 2021 amounted to UAH 977.9 million, which is 3.3 times more than in the same period in 2020 (UAH 295 million).
According to the bank, net interest income for this period increased by 2%, to UAH 1.415 billion, net commissions – by 10.3%, to UAH 821.5 million.
At the same time, the assets of Alfa-Bank in the first quarter decreased by UAH 15 million, to UAH 97.578 billion, in particular the loan portfolio – by 4%, to UAH 45.93 billion.
The bank’s liabilities decreased by 1%, to UAH 86.96 billion, in particular customer funds – by UAH 108 million, to UAH 73.4 billion.
The bank’s capital in the first three months of the year increased by 10.4%, to UAH 10.62 billion. The charter capital remained at the level of UAH 28.726 billion.
As of March 1, 2021, Alfa-Bank ranked sixth in terms of total assets (UAH 109.94 billion) among 73 banks operating in the country.
The net profit of Alfa-Bank (Kyiv) in 2020 amounted to UAH 1.21 billion, which is 1.6 times less than in 2019 (UAH 1.93 billion).
According to the bank, in the fourth quarter of last year, the bank received UAH 433.645 million of net profit, which is 1.4% less than in the same period in 2019 (some UAH 440 million).
Alfa-Bank’s assets over the past year increased by 35.6%, to UAH 97.5 billion, including the bank’s loan portfolio by 22%, to UAH 47.82 billion, due to loans provided to business entities, the volume of which increased by 51.4% to UAH 19.6 billion. At the same time, the volume of highly liquid assets increased by 39.5%, to UAH 7.2 billion, due to an increase in cash balances by 74.7%, to UAH 5.1 billion.
It is indicated that the balances on the account in the National Bank as of January 1, 2021 amounted to UAH 2.1 billion, while the liabilities to the National Bank reached the level of UAH 9.9 billion.
According to the statistics, the volume of balances placed on correspondent accounts in other banks increased 4.2 times, to UAH 8.3 billion.
The bank’s liabilities increased by 38.5% to UAH 87.8 billion, including the volume of legal entities’ funds by 34.8%, to UAH 30.4 billion, and funds of individuals by 19.4%, to UAH 41.5 billion.
The bank’s capital increased by 18.1%, to UAH 9.7 billion, and the regulatory capital as of January 1, 2021 amounted to UAH 8.8 billion.
As of October 1, 2020, Alfa-Bank ranked sixth in terms of total assets (UAH 101.64 billion) among 74 banks operating in the country.
Alfa-Bank (Kyiv) on December 18 opened the AHUB co-working space with a conference room for educational and business events, meeting rooms and multimedia spaces in the center of Lviv, according to the website of the financial institution.
“AHUB is a space for work and meetings of Alfa-Bank clients. This is a place that can replace an office or a meeting room for someone … We immediately announce the opening of AHUB in Kyiv next year,” the executive director of Alfa-Bank, Olha Fylypenko, said.
According to the press service of the bank, AHUB covers an area of 326 square meters and is located in a building rented by Alfa-Bank on Rynok Square, which also houses a bank branch.
It is indicated that in addition to access to the business space, AHUB offers an educational program, in particular thematic offline and online events with the possibility of remote access to them.
In addition, the AHUB has a relax room, a stress room and a bar, the report says.
Cheap loans and mortgage should be based on economic stability, otherwise it is impossible to regulate such programs manually, General Manager of Alfa-Bank Rafal Juszczak has said.
“The idea of making [banks] to open deposits at 5% will reduce the interest rate to 10% indeed. But where is confidence here? The bank is confidence. The economy is stability, predictability. Would you deposit your private money at 5% under a threat of devaluation? Such actions will provoke a response – we won’t see deposit inflows,” the banker said in an exclusive interview to Interfax-Ukraine.
Juszczak also spoke in favor of a free market as long as market mechanisms operate there and it is impossible to force people to do anything.
“I would focus on economic stability. Hence, the interest rates will gradually decrease,” he said.
Alfa-Bank’s general manager also noted that a slowdown in rates could promote changes in banks as their interest income would decrease.
He also said that Alfa-Bank’s interest rates remain at the market level, although they may keep decreasing.
“I don’t rule out that against the background of such a positive dynamics in interest rates we will be able to offer a new product with a very attractive rate so as to get an additional market share due to the price,” Juszczak said.
At the same time, the banker mentioned that the future of the crisis is still not clear.”I agree with out macroeconomist Oleksiy Blinov: he is not as pessimistic as other analysts. Today many of them say that Ukraine, thanks to the specifics of its economy, will get even stronger after this crisis than many other countries,” he said.
As of June 1, 2020, Alfa-Bank ranked sixth among 75 banks operating in the country in terms of total assets (UAH 94.113 billion).
Alfa-Bank and Globus Bank (both Kyiv-based) made agreements with the government of the Republic of Belarus on providing Ukrainian entrepreneurs with loans for the purchase of Belarusian goods on preferential terms using the resources of the latter, the press services of the banks said.
“According to the terms of the program, Alfa-Bank Ukraine will receive compensation for loan interest for the purchase of Belarusian machinery for a period of up to five years in the amount of two thirds of the National Bank of Ukraine discount rate, valid on the date when the loan is issued,” Alfa-Bank said on its website.
Under the preferential loan program, Ukrainians will be able to purchase Belarusian machinery, in particular agricultural, automotive and road-construction.
The compensation is provided under the agreement and decree No. 466 on some measures for the sale of goods produced in the Republic of Belarus of the president of Belarus dated September 24, 2009.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), at the beginning of 2020, the largest shareholders of Alfa-Bank were indirectly Mykhailo Fridman (31.483767%), German Khan (20.085856%), Oleksiy Kuzmichov (15.638704%), Petr Aven (11.881235%) and UniCredit SpA (Italy, 9.484448%).
Bank Globus was registered in 2007. Its major participants as of January 1, 2019 were Olena Sylniahina and Dmytro Polkovsky indirectly through Ukrainian Media Technologies LLC (100%).
Alfa-Bank (Kyiv) has improved our real GDP growth forecast for 2020 from 3% to 3.2% and expects economic growth to reach 3.8% in 2021, according to the bank’s macroeconomic forecast under the base case (most probable) posted on its website last week. According to the document, the economy would expand with moderate rates of 2.3-2.5% during the first three quarters of 2020. At the same time, the bank sees prospects for economic growth accelerating in the fourth quarter of 2020 to more than 4% due to expected thrust in bank lending, which would provide additional impetus for domestic demand.
“Low baseline effect would be another major reason behind economic growth acceleration at the end of 2020, as the last quarter of the previous year was associated with local slump in industrial and agricultural output,” the bank said in the forecast.
According to the bank’s analysts, low inflation would be one of the key features of 2020. According to the bank’s forecast, average annual growth in Consumer Price Index (CPI) would turn just 3.4% this year, after 7.9% in 2019.
“Only by the end of 2020, inflation would return to the target range set by the National Bank of Ukraine (4-6%), as a result of monetary easing and some recovery in producer prices,” the bank’s analysts said.
The bank’s experts share the recently updated central bank’s expectation of its prime rate at 7% by end 2020 from current 11%. However, they do not exclude that prolonged inflation below target range in 2020 would request for an even more accommodative monetary policy.
