Banca Ifis, a Mestre-based banking institution mainly active in corporate credit services and solutions and the acquisition of non-performing loan portfolios, closed the first nine months of 2021 with a net profit of 80,2 million euros and revised its year-end guidance upwards. We are talking about a +53,2% compared to the 52,3 million euros as at 30 September 2020. Profits therefore in strong progression, despite further prudential provisions to absorb the expiry of public support measures at the end of the year.
In the nine months the intermediation margin as at 30 September 2021 it was equal to 449,2 million euros, up by 39,6% on the same period of 2020 thanks to better performances in the Nel sector and the dynamism of the commercial and corporate banking sections. The quarter saw a year-over-year record in cash recoveries from purchased NPL portfolios, which nearly eliminates the less favorable seasonality seen in the third quarter. The annual objective of purchasing NPL portfolios of 3 billion euro was then achieved. The CET1, calculated excluding the profit for the first nine months, stood at 11,68%, up from 11,29% as at 31 December 2020.
Now the bank plans to achieve a net profit for the whole of 2021 between 90 and 100 million euros (compared to the 80-90 million euros announced last August 5, 2021) and revenues between 570 and 590 million euros (the previous estimate was for 540-560 million euros). The guidance, it is underlined, has been prepared assuming a progressively improving scenario, no macroeconomic or pandemic shocks and the continued support of governments and central banks for the economic recovery.
«The results for the first nine months confirm the ability to effectively oversee specific businesses and seize the opportunities offered by the significantly recovering market», says the CEO Frederik Geertman. «The parent company's net profit for the period goes beyond our expectations; the result, calculated net of the PPA and the extraordinary capital gains linked to the sale of the Milanese property, is 25% higher than in the same period of 2019 and about five times that of 2020 », he adds.
He continues: «i revenues, net of the PPA (equal to 21,5 million euros), recorded the historical maximum». In the first nine months of the year, cash recoveries on NPL portfolios purchased reached an all-time high and amounted to 252 million euros (+38% compared to 183 million euros in the first nine months of 2020), confirming the capacity of the portfolio to resist the crisis.
Geertman defines «positive» signals from credits in moratorium, with 74% of customers regularly resuming payments. The remaining receivables in the moratorium, equal to 211 million euros, mainly consist of leasing receivables, with underlying vehicles, capital goods and mortgages mainly guaranteed by the State.
The CEO is keen to underline: «on 2 November we finalized our largest acquisition of NPLs, taking over 2,8 billion euro of non-performing loans from Cerberus. The operation made it possible to reach the target for the purchase of NPL portfolios estimated for 2021 in advance".
The bank's recent membership of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance reaffirms its commitment to sustainability. "It will allow us to actively contribute to achieving the common goal of net zero emissions by 2050," concludes Geertman.
