(Finance) – The Board of Directors of Cassa Centrale Banca examined the consolidated results of the Group as of 31 December 2023. “The excellent results achieved by the Cassa Centrale Group, 5 years after its establishment – states the President with satisfaction Giorgio Fracalossi – testify to the relevance of a service model based on the relationship with the members, customers and communities of reference of the 66 BCC – CR – Raika that are part of the Group: the 1,480 branches of the member banks are the critical success factor of the our development path, always consistent with the cooperative values that distinguish us”.
“I can’t hide my satisfaction – he says Sandro Bolognesi, CEO of Cassa Centrale Banca – in confirming a significant growth trend with further improved economic results compared to last year, despite a context of great economic instability. The Group’s net profit is equal to 871 million euros, and with a CET1 ratio of 24.6% we confirm a capital position at the top of the banking system. In line with the strategic evolution that we are giving to the Group, the objective of supporting the territorial presence (in the last two years we have opened 50 new branches to demonstrate the concrete closeness to our communities) with the development of digital channels is also proceeding at a rapid pace. with a focus on new technologies, in order to satisfy the needs of members and customers in an omnichannel service logic. In short, we want to concretely combine the values that make our mutual banks unique with the challenges of the bank of tomorrow.”
The interest margin for the year 2023 it is equal to 2.4 billion euros, up 30% compared to December 2022. In a context characterized by significant increases in interest rates by global Central Banks, the net margin of credit activity stood at 1.9 billion euros, while the contribution of the financial portfolio was only marginally higher than that of 2022, standing at 845 million euros.
The net commissions of 2023 continued the expansion trend underway since the creation of the Group and are grew by more than 5% compared to 2022, reaching 795 million euros. The data confirms the Group’s growing ability to diversify its primary revenues, offering members and customers an ever-increasing number of products and services, capable of satisfying the spectrum of financial, insurance and payment system needs. The most significant contribution came mainly from the growth in wealth management and bancassurance commissions.
During 2023, the intermediation margin he then reached i 2.8 billion euros up by 13% compared to the results achieved in 2022, improving the challenging income objectives that the Group has set itself with the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.
THE operating costsamount to 1.7 billion, up 9.5% compared to 2022 as a consequence of the significant investments in IT and the inflationary trend which characterized above all the first part of 2023.
The cost income ratio of the Group (net of extraordinary and non-recurring items) is equal to 52%a strong improvement compared to the 2022 financial year when it was 59%.
Glnet provisions on loans amount to 80 million euros highlighting a low cost of risk, a consequence of the prudent provisioning policy adopted by the Group in the last three years and of credit management attentive to the needs of members and customers operating in the reference territories of the BCC-CR-Raika which make up the Cassa Cooperative Group Central.
Profit before taxes in 2023 it stood at 1.027 billion euroscompared to a result of euro 657 million in 2022. The Group’s net profit amounted to 871 million euros (euro 562 million in 2022).
In a year characterized by cooling demand for credit, i gross performing loans increased by 130 million euros, closing at 48.2 billion and new disbursements to members and customers amounted to over 8 billion euros, distributed evenly across the operating territories of the BCC-CR-Raika belonging to the Group. The data confirms the importance of cooperative credit in supporting the financial needs of families and SMEs in the areas where the Group is established.
THE gross impaired loans you are further reduced by 345 millionat 2.1 billion euros, with bad debts amounting to 600 millionunlikely to pay equal to euro 1.5 billion and past due positions equal to euro 60 million.
The combined effect of the growth in performing loans and the constant reduction in impaired loans allow for progressive improvement the gross NPL ratioThat drops to 4.2% (4.8% in 2022) and, together with the prudent hedging policy, determine a net NPL ratio of 0.7% (0.9% in 2022), which places the Group at the top of the national banking system. The coverage ratio of impaired loans, already at the highest levels in the Italian and European banking sector, further improves to 85%, compared to 82% in December 2022.
There direct collection it increased by 1.5% compared to 2022, reaching euro 67 billion. There indirect collection benefited from the positive market performance during 2023 which supported asset management products and from the strong increase in yields on government bonds, which pushed savers’ interest towards managed deposits. Overall, indirect funding at the end of December 2023 reached €44 billion with an increase of 23% compared to December 2022. The overall collection in December 2023 it is therefore grew to 111 billion euros (+8.9% on December 2022)a figure that confirms the trust that saving customers place in the BCC-CR-Raika which are part of the Group.
Financial assets amount to €35.6 billion, of which €34.5 billion in securities issued by governments and other supranational bodies, mainly represented by Italian government bonds.
Capital ratios and liquidity indicators as of 31 December 2023: Common Equity Tier 1 ratio (CET1) Phase-in equal to 24.6% (22.8% at 31 December 2022); Total Capital ratio (TCR) Phase-in equal to 24.6% (22.8% at 31 December 2022).
The Group’s bd, which includes the result for the period, stands at 8.2 billion euros (increasing compared to €7.2 billion at the end of 2022).
As of December 2023, the LCR (“Liquidity Coverage Ratio”) is 275% (248% as of December ’22) and the NSFR (“Net Stable Funding Ratio”) is 168% (151% as of end-2022). Both indicators remain well above regulatory requirements, denoting a situation of abundant liquidity that has characterized the Group since its establishment.