Top three banks from Romania together accounted for nearly 47% of the banking industry’s profit in 2023

Banca Transilvania, BCR, and BRD Groupe Société Générale together reported a profit of 6.4 billion lei in 2023, representing nearly 47% of the banking system’s earnings, which amounted to 13.7 billion lei.

Although the combined profits of the three largest banks in Romania increased by approximately 22% compared to the previous year, calculations show that they no longer occupy as large a share of the banking industry’s profit as in the past. For example, in 2021, the earnings of these three credit institutions accounted for about 54% of the total profit, while in 2022 it was just over 51%.

Individual data reveals that Banca Transilvania remains the most profitable bank in our country, with the Cluj-based credit institution surpassing its 2015 performance by 2.5 billion lei (+14% compared to 2022), when it reported a profit of 2.4 billion lei under exceptional conditions generated by the acquisition of Volksbank.

BCR recorded a net profit of 2.32 billion lei (469 million euros) in 2023, up 33% from 1.74 billion lei (354 million euros) in 2022, due to improved operational performance supported by increased business volume with clients.

Similarly, BRD Groupe Société Générale, the bank with French shareholders, had an exceptional year in 2023, reporting a record profit of 1.63 billion lei, up 27% from 2022 (1.28 billion lei).

Looking back at the evolution of profits for the three banks, as shown in the presented charts, Banca Transilvania is the only institution that has not reported losses in any year since the financial crisis to the present. BCR and BRD Groupe Société Générale each faced this situation twice.