Optima Bank H1 profits up 57%

Optima Bank posted first-half profits of €69 million, up 57% from the €44.1 million posted in the first half of 2023, it announced Thursday.

On a quarterly basis, profits rose 41%, to €36.3 million, from €25.7 million in the second quarter of 2023. CEO Dimitris Kyparissis noted that the bank posted an industry leading return on total equity of 26.7%.

"In the first half of 2024 we continued growing our loan book by generating €1,222 mln new loan disbursements, up from € 961 mln in the same period last year, as the demand for credit in our targeted markets remains robust," Kyparissis told analysts.

The bank's deposits grew 34% year-on-year, reaching €3.7 billion, with the loans-to-deposit ratio standing at 81.5%. In light of the results, Optima upwardly revised its total profits estimate for 2024, to €134 million.

"We started a new bank from zero and in...