OREANDA-NEWS. UkrGasBank <  UGZB UZ USD1.351 Hold  > disclosed its 9M2007 results. Net assets grew by 96.4% over 9M2007 (70.3% over 8M2007) and amounted  to USD 1.7bn, Millennium Capital financial services provider reports with reference to UkrGasbank. This growth is substantially higher than that of the banking industry for the same period (49.6%). UGZB's credit portfolio increased over this period substantially - by 95.1% (75.3% over  8M2007) - and amounted to USD 0.8bn. This growth is also substantially  higher than that of the banking industry (52.2%). UGZB finished 9M2007 with net income of USD 11.6mn, which is 222.4% more than in 9M2006. This yields 2007 an expected ROE of 12.2% (ROE was 8.9% in 2006), which is slightly less than in the banking industry as a whole (12.8%). UGZB is the 17th largest bank by assets in Ukraine and has 248 branches, with 86 opened in 2007.

In the words of the experts, "UGZB's growth in assets accelerated substantially in September, exceeding our expectations."  "However, UGZB's growth in net income lags behind our forecast. Overall, we maintain our Hold recommendation," they conclude.