Profil:
Bank Millennium SAMillennium lender expects profitability to improve and CHF-related costs to fall
Listed lender Bank Millennium expects further improvement in profitability, credit risk costs will remain at a good level in 2025, but may increase, and the costs associated with foreign currency mortgage loans will be lower. The interest margin will start to fall slightly with the expected reduction in interest rates, the bank's representatives told a conference.
"We do not make profit forecasts, but we can say that we expect a continuation of improvement in terms of profitability, which will help us achieve the goals that we have in our strategy," said Millennium's deputy CEO Fernando Bicho.
He added that the lender's result from interest should be at a very solid level, and the pace of cost growth will decrease.
"We are not saying that the cost of risk will be as low as in 2024, but we are confident that it will still be very good," Bicho said.
"We look forward to continuing the decline in costs associated with foreign currency mortgages," he added.
The cost of bank credit risk in 2024 was 40 basis points.
In 2024, write-offs on the legal risk of FX mortgage loans amounted to PLN 2.179 billion (EUR 517.3 mln).
The CEO of Millennium Joao Bras Jorge said the bank was still interested in settling customer settlements on CHF loans. He added that he sees the possibility of legal risks and threats to the activities of banks when it comes to undermining WIBOR.
Bicho said the bank wants to resume dividend payments from 2027 and upholds the plan outlined in the new strategy.
Asked about the development of credit lending, the CEO said that he expects that in 2025 the corporate loan segment will be more active, and the bank wants to participate in it.
The bank's interest rate in the fourth quarter was PLN 1.505 billion (EUR 357.3 mln) and was in line with the market expectations. The interest rate increased by 17 percent year on year and by 1 percent quarter on quarter.
The interest margin in the last quarter of 2024 stabilised in quarterly terms at 4.4 percent.
"We anticipate that our net interest margin will begin to decline slightly. As rates start to fall, and we predict that they will fall by about 100 basis points in a year, NIM will also start to fall," CEO Bicho said.
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