Download Marfin Bank Romania committed to local banking market

Marfin Bank Romania committed to local
banking market
Doros Ktorides, Chief Executive Officer Marfin Bank Romania
R:
What do you think of the banking system in 2010? Can one say the peak of the crisis has been left
behind?
DK:
In 2010 the banking system continued to face similar problems with the previous years. Due to the
fact that the economy doesn’t recover as it was expected, clients can’t meet their financial obligations
and as a result Non Performing Loans and provisions have increased significantly putting pressure to
the capital adequacy ratios of the banks and the profitability of the system. Adapting the new
environment the banks have started to assess their organizational structure through consolidation of
activities, emphasis in cost cutting, and focus in the restructuring of the existing loans portfolio. In
addition, in order to improve the demand for new facilities banks offer attractive terms to specific
market segments who have the potential.
Today’s economic environment is so volatile that no one can express with certainty an opinion. This is
the reason that all the reputable analysts revise their views from time to time. The initial expectations
for economic growth in Romania this year has been proved optimistic. On the contrary, we have a
GDP contraction of 1.50% as the fiscal consolidation measures agreed with IMF which include 25% cut
of the salaries of public sector and a 5% increase in VAT had a negative impact on the market.
However, there are some signs of optimism and we aspect that 2011 will be a better year, with
moderate growth. Banks seeing the opportunity have started to become more active in the loans
market.
R:
What are Marfin Bank’s expectations this year? How does Ordinance 50/2010 affect the Bank’s
relations with its customers?
DK:
The results of 2010 for MARFIN BANK seem to be beyond our expectations. The proactive measures
that our bank has taken and the close relationship with our clients led to significant improvement in all
of our ratios. For example, our profitability for the period January – August 2010 is up 114%
compared with the same period of 2009, while our balance sheet has increased more than 10%.
Regarding the new ordinance at the beginning it created some tension, but our bank from the first
time informed all the customers about the new modifications in order to avoid any conflicts.
R:
Are you preparing any new promotions? Can we expect loan interest rates to go down?
DK:
Despite the unfavorable economic environment, our bank will have a very busy winter. First of all, we
are going to launch a complete range of retail products (debit-credit cards, mortgage loans, capital
guarantee products, upgraded internet banking application) in order to satisfy adequately our
customer’s needs.
Concerning interest rates we expect that interest rates especially for mortgage will drop as the market
will be more mature and the customers exploit every available alternative for refinance.
R:
What strategy are you preparing to grow your market share this year?
DK:
Our Group is committed to the local market believing that is going to recover gradually in the near
future and business opportunities will arise. In this context MARFIN BANK (ROMANIA) has almost
completed all the necessary investments in order to improve infrastructure that is needed to expand
our activities. In addition, with a new implemented marketing mix we are planning to strength our
position in corporate and retail based on innovative and competitive in terms of pricing products. Of
course, the milestone in all these process is to serve our customers with an exceptional way.