Overall, domestic banks are doing well. In 2022, the aggregate annual profit rose from 6.1 to 10.2 billion euros, as the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) announced on Wednesday. The result for the period of the credit institution groups and individual credit institutions thus exceeds “the already very good result” from the previous year by 66.9 percent. The banks had “achieved a record annual result in a tense environment”.
The SNB emphasized that the key increases in interest income and commission income are to be seen in the context of a sluggish economy, high inflation and a correspondingly restrictive monetary policy. The interest result improved according to the information by 23.3 percent to 19.3 billion euros, the commission result by 25.6 percent to 10.1 billion euros.
The extraordinarily high increase in the profit for the period of EUR 4.1 billion is also put into perspective, as the Russian invasion means that the ability to realize profits from subsidiary banks in Belarus and Russia is currently restricted.
In addition to the increase in operating income, the main reason for the positive development of the annual profit following minority interests and taxes is the increase in the overall result from discontinued operations following taxes by EUR 1 billion. In addition, the increase in profits from subsidiaries that are not fully or proportionally consolidated by EUR 811 million made a significant contribution to the improvement.
However, the doubling of impairments and provisions for credit risk by EUR 1.1 billion to EUR 2.2 billion weighed on the annual result.
The operating income of domestic banks increased by 22.5 percent (EUR 5.8 billion) to EUR 31.6 billion in the past financial year. The increase in interest income and commission income had a positive effect on operating income. “The good development in net interest income is primarily due to the changed interest rate environment and an increased volume of receivables,” emphasized the OeNB.
The operating result increased year-on-year by 42.6 percent (EUR 3.8 billion) to around EUR 12.9 billion. According to the OeNB, this was primarily due to the significant increase in operating income. The increase in depreciation and impairment of intangible assets, property, plant and equipment and investments by EUR 1.3 billion to EUR 3.4 billion (plus 63.8 percent) had a negative impact on the operating result.
