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Bank Handlowy w Warszawie SABank Handlowy expects no further write-offs in retail banking segment
Bank Handlowy, the Warsaw-listed unit of Citigroup, does not expect to have to take any further material write-offs in the retail banking segment in the coming quarters, the lender's deputy CEO and CFO Patrycjusz Wojcik announced at a conference.
"We have made a 100-percent write-off of goodwill and also of the value of non-current assets, so we do not expect any material write-offs in this segment in the coming quarters," Wojcik told the conference.
The bank's 2024 interest margin was 4.4 percent, and Wojcik pointed to elements that could positively impact it.
"At the moment, we are extending our portfolio duration, with relatively high yields, and increasing yields on Treasury securities, and this should positively impact the interest margin," Wojcik assessed.
In 2024, Bank Handlowy's group net profit stood at PLN 1.76 billion (EUR 419.2 mln), down from PLN 2.26 billion (EUR 538.3 mln) in 2023. The lender said that the decrease in net profit was mainly attributable to impairment losses on assets in the retail banking segment totalling PLN 432.5 million (EUR 103 mln).
In the fourth quarter alone, the bank took impairment charges against the book value of the retail banking segment's non-current assets totalling PLN 252 million (EUR 60 mln).
In 2021, the bank's majority shareholder (Citigroup Inc.) decided on planned changes to its retail banking strategy involving an exit from retail banking in more than a dozen markets, including Poland. The bank said on Wednesday that the divestment process regarding retail banking in Poland is still ongoing.
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