OREANDA-NEWS. In the first four months of 2013 Uniastrum saw personal lending outstrip the prior-year result 80%, boosting its consumer credit portfolio 10% YTD to Rb 6.8 bn. As of May1 2012, the amount of defaulted debt in the portfolio contracted 3% year-on-year.

Uniastrum reports solid profit growth since year-start 2013, notching up Rb 134 mn in January - April, or over twice the figure for the year-earlier period. Capital adequacy ratio stands at 12.47% as of May 1, 2013, exceeding the regulatory threshold of 10% and underscoring the Bank’s overall stability.

Since year-start 2012, Uniastrum has greatly curtailed dependence on Bank of Cyprus funding, scaling down borrowing 38%, or Rb 7 bn. The contraction in Uniastrum’s deposit portfolio in March on negative news from Cyprus has been stemmed, with retail and business deposit gathering picking up again in April.

Uniastrum has strong liquidity ratios, significantly higher than the reserve requirements set by the Central Bank. As of May 1, 2013, its quick ratio stood at 71.63%, as against a minimum requirement of 20%, while current ratio equaled 65.73%, compared with the CBR regulatory threshold of 50%. Meantime, the Bank of Cyprus has reconfirmed its readiness and ability to maintain funding for Uniastrum at the current level. This month the two banks signed an agreement to extend all loans ranging from six months to eight years with optional renewal.

“Over the next three years we aim to upsize the share of retail and SB loans to 75% of our total credit portfolio,” says Uniastrum President Gagik Zakaryan. “The Bank’s current operations in all key business segments are paying off, as the month-on-month uptrend in profit clearly shows.