Banca Popolare di Rho: first half 2002 profits

The Board of Directors of the Banca Popolare di Rho has approved the report on operations as at June 30 2002.

The bank, which joined the Credito Valtellinese Group five years ago, has been further developing both its branch network - thanks in particular to the Treasury Service for the city of Rho - and the range of services provided to the clientele via the Internet through the banc@perta line.

The main balance-sheet aggregates have been increasing steadily during the first half of 2002. At the end of June, direct deposits from customers totalled € 58.4 million, increasing by 16.9 percent compared with the end of December 2001 (+38.3% compared with June 30 2001). Indirect deposits were down by 5.7% at € 24.3 million.
As for investments, sums receivable from the clientele stood at € 51.7 million (+13.7% compared with the end of December 2001).

As far as the profit and loss account is concerned, due to the transfer of the branch office of Busto Arsizio to the parent bank Credito Valtellinese in November 2001, the interest margin was down by 2.1 percent, at € 1.5 million, net proceeds from services by 7.3 percent, at € 537,000 mainly as a result of the diminished volume of financial operations. As a consequence, the intermediation margin stood at € 2.1 million (-3.5%).
Diminished operating costs together with a slight increase in value adjustments in respect of fixed assets have led to record a gross operating income of € 345,000 (-3.1 percent if compared with the result for the first half of 2001)
After entering adjustments in respect of credits and provisions for € 178,000, extraordinary losses and taxes for € 73,000, profits for the first half of 2002 totalled € 95,200, with a strong increase if compared with the same period of the previous year, which recorded a loss for € 48,000.