Bosnia’s bank assets growth quickens to 3.7% y/y at end-Sept 2013

By bne IntelliNews November 5, 2013

Bosnia’s commercial banks assets rose 3.7% y/y to BAM 22.9bn (EUR 11.7bn) at end-September 2013, following a 3.3% y/y growth a month earlier, central bank (CBBH) data showed. The growth was supported by a mild increase of lending activity and higher bank reserves. The assets accounted for 82.6% of the full-year GDP forecast, down from 83.8% a year earlier, according to IntelliNews calculations.

Bank loans went up 1.9% y/y to BAM 16.2bn as of end-September, quickening from a 1.8% y/y rise the month before mainly due to higher retail lending. Loan growth remained below the 2012 average of 4.9%. Credits to companies increased 1.0% y/y to BAM 8.3bn at end-September, easing from a 1.1% y/y hike in August. Retail loans growth, on the other hand, strengthened to 2.6% from 2.1% at end-August with the value of these credits amounting to BAM 7.0bn.

Bosnia’s commercial banks' reserves, which include cash in banks’ vaults and bank deposits with the central bank, climbed 18.3% y/y to BAM 3.8bn at end-September after rising 16.7% the month before. They accounted for 16.4% in total banks’ assets, up from 14.4% the year before.

Lending activity is projected to grow 4.0% in 2013, the same as the year before, according to the latest forecast of the government's Directorate for Economic Planning (DEP).

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