After-tax profit of K&H Bank, the local unit of Belgium's KBC, doubled to HUF21.4bn (€56mn) in Q1, while the insurance unit incurred a loss of HUF3.1bn due to the recognition of the windfall tax booked for the quarter.

The loan portfolio expanded by 5% HUF2.87 trillion, with the volume of new loans rising by HUF134bn.

Corporate lending stock rose 5% in twelve months, while retail loans increased by 7%. Mortgage outlays quadrupled to HUF41bn as demand for new loans surged and  borrowing costs dropped. Customer deposits grew by 8% year on year to HUF3.8 trillion.

Funds managed by K&H saw a 46% jump in value to HUF1.48 trillion. The government bond portfolio exceeded HUF1 trillion and its book value increased by 6% y/y.

K&H Bank has over 650,000 digitally active customers, and two-thirds of new retail account openings are done online. More than half a million customers have used the bank’s voice-based digital financial assistant, a novelty on the market. The Belgian-based lender has been at the forefront of innovative solutions on the market.

Its insurance business, K&H Biztosito, booked a loss of HUF3bn on the back of the windfall profit tax, but premium revenues grew 10% and all business segments reported growth.

Revenue from premiums on life policies increased by 5% mainly due to unit-linked pension insurance. In the non-life insurance segment, premium income increased by 10% to HUF22.0bn.

The number of home insurance policies climbed 9% in Q1 as close to half a million contracts were renegotiated during the home insurance campaign, when policy holders could switch insurers without penalty.