- On the back of attractive digital financial solutions and services, the bank’s active customers reached an all-time high of 368,000 active clients as of 30 June 2022, an increase of 5% year over year
- During the first six months the bank issued €646 million in new financing to support Baltic private, SME and corporate customers
- Thanks to customer trust in Citadele’s strategy of developing financial services in the Baltics, operating income in the first half of 2022 reached €79.6 million, an increase of 8% year over year
- Now SMEs can digitally onboard in 6 minutes instead of 30 minutes
“The second quarter was dominated by elevated levels of global uncertainty, driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the energy crisis and ongoing supply chain disruptions. Despite the uncertainty, we have continued to grow our market share in all three Baltic countries, and we have delivered a strong second quarter and first half of the year," says Johan Akerblom (Johan Åkerblom), Citadele CEO. “We are proud of both the trust we are getting from active customers – reaching a record number of 368,000 clients and having 5% growth year over year – and the active use of our digital financial services, as, for example, there are already 220,000 active mobile app users, which is a 36% increase year over year,” adds Akerblom.
Innovations and development
In the second quarter of 2022, Citadele continued its digitalisation strategy and investments in developing attractive financial services and solutions. Improvements to digital onboarding were launched, and onboarding time for SMEs was reduced from 30 to 6 minutes. In the retail segment, the focus was on refugees from Ukraine, who as a customer group are now able to onboard digitally with the help of our mobile banking app. To date, more than 5,000 refugees from Ukraine have applied to open a Citadele account.
An updated version of Citadele’s website was launched for all Baltic countries focusing on user experience and customer service improvements. The bank’s Leasing portal now ensures access to all information regarding remaining balances and upcoming payments. Following its entrance in Estonia and reaching 600+ merchants across all three Baltic countries, Klix has become a well-recognised e-commerce checkout player.
€646 million issued in new financing to Baltic customers, with deposits reaching €3 566 million
We have continued to support the business community with financing for growth and expansion. New financing to our customers reached €646 million in the first half of this year, a 17% increase year over year. €349 million were issued in the second quarter of 2022, a 17% growth quarter over quarter.
The total loan book as of 30 June 2022 was €2 895 million, 7% higher vs. the end of 2021. Portfolio quality continued to improve, and the NPL ratio stood at 3.0% as of 30 June 2022, vs. 3.3% at the end of 2021.
The deposit base remained stable, and Baltic deposits constituted €3 582 million as of 30 June 2022, or 97% of total deposits. Loan-to-deposit ratio was 79% as of the end of March 2022, compared to 73% as of the year end 2021.
Strong financial results
Citadele showed strong financial performance with record income in both the second quarter and the first six months of 2022 on the back of continued market share growth in all three countries. In the first half of 2022, operating income reached €79.6 million, 8% growth year over year. In the second quarter, operating income was €40.3 million, a 4% increase year over year.
Major investments in the continuous development of attractive services and solutions, as well as European Central Bank onboarding costs, have driven an increase in cost base. Operating expenses were €44.9 million in the first half of 2022 vs. €41.0 million the same period. Operating expenses in the second quarter were €24 million.
Taking a prudent approach towards a more uncertain macroeconomic outlook, the bank has recognised net credit losses of €12.7 million in the first half of 2022 (€6.6 million in the second quarter of 2022). Baltic operations profit before impairment was €34.8 million in the first six months of 2022, 6% higher than in the same period last year. Profit before impairment in the second quarter reached €16.2 million. Net profits from Baltic operations reached €21.4 million in the first six months of 2022, which translated into 10.7% return on equity. In the second quarter of this year, net profit reached €9.3 million.
Citadele continues to operate with adequate capital and liquidity ratios: CAR, transitional (including this period’s result) of 18.0% and LCR of 167% as of 30 June 2022.