Coop Pank AS results for February 2024

Coop Pank’s financial results in February 2024:

• In February, number of the bank's clients increased by 2,100 and number of active clients increased by 1,500. By the end of the month number of clients reached 187,100 and number of active clients reached 82,600. Over the year, customer base has grown by 23%.
• Volume of the bank's customer deposits decreased by 26 million euros, reaching 1.72 billion euros by the end of month. Deposits of corporate customers decreased by 14 million euros and deposits of private customers increased by 1 million euros. The volume of deposits attracted from international platforms decreased by 13 million euros. Over the year, volume of bank deposits has grown by 14%.
• The bank's loan portfolio increased by 7 million euros and reached 1.52 billion euros by the end of February. Business loans decreased by 4 million euros, home loans increased by 8 million euros, leasing increased by 3 million euros and consumer financing loan portfolio remained at the same level in February as it was in January. Over the year, loan portfolio has grown by 15%.  
• In February, the loan impairment cost was 0.3 million euros.     
• Compared to the first two months of last year, the bank's net income has increased by 8% and expenses by 25% during the same period this year.
• In February, the bank earned net profit of 2.6 million euros. In the first two months of the year, the bank has earned a net profit of 5,6 million euros, that is 4% less than in the same period last year.   
• In February, Coop Pank's return on equity was 17.5% and the cost-income ratio was 49%.
  
  

Comment by Paavo Truu, Member of the Management Board and CFO of Coop Pank:

"The macroeconomic environment continues to remain fragile, and in this environment one can perceive the caution of entrepreneurs when making investments, which is why the demand for loans is also quite low. The good news is that, despite the recession and the decline in industrial production, unemployment has increased less than feared, and therefore the solvency of private individuals has been better than expected. Also, the demand for new loans by private individuals has remained stronger than that of companies.

Expected changes in the interest rate environment largely result from Inflation expectations in the Eurozone. Inflation is on a downward trend, but not quite to the level that the European Central Bank aims for. In this situation, it is unclear when the European Central Bank will start lowering interest rates, but analysts and market participants expect that it will happen this year. Because of this expectation, interest rates on deposits have already fallen somewhat.

In February, the growth of Coop Pank's loan portfolio was largely based on successful new sales of home loans and leasing. Teachers have made a lot of use of the more favorable home loan conditions that Coop Pank has offered them since the beginning of the year. In order to encourage also others to apply for a loan from a domestic bank, Coop Pank has decided to pay most of the additional costs related to the loan to those signing the home loan agreement during the campaign period. Over the year, the bank's loan portfolio has increased by 15%.

Since the growth of the loan portfolio was modest in February, it provided an opportunity to repay the deposits raised through the international Raisin platform, as a result, the deposit portfolio decreased. The decrease in the volume of deposits was consciously managed and the bank's liquidity indicators are at a good level. The bank's deposit portfolio has increased by 14% over the year.

In February, Coop Pank expanded the cooperation with the Tuleva Commercial Association, which had already started at the end of last year, and now the bank offers its customers the opportunity to join both Tuleva's second and third pillar pension funds. The increasingly attractive range of products and opportunities bring new customers to the bank.

Among other things, the bank's results were affected by a shorter month than usual, which has an impact on interest income. In February, Coop Pank earned a net profit of 2.6 million euros, the return on equity was 17.5% and the cost-income ratio was 49%."

More detailed financial reports of Coop Pank are available at:  https://www.cooppank.ee/en/financial-reports

Coop Pank, based on Estonian capital, is one of the five universal banks operating in Estonia. The number of clients using Coop Pank for their daily banking reached 187,100. Coop Pank aims to put the synergy generated by the interaction of retail business and banking to good use and to bring everyday banking services closer to people’s homes. The strategic shareholder of the bank is the domestic retail chain Coop Eesti, comprising of 320 stores.

Additional information:
Paavo Truu
CFO
Phone: +372 5160 231
E-mail: paavo.truu@cooppank.ee

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• Coop Pank 2023-02_EN