Additionally, the bank continued adapting to both the market environment and consumer preferences, which helped both retail and SME business lines grow above the market trends and contributed positively to the overall result.

During 2023 tbi bank serviced 2.5 million loan applications in Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, twice as much as for 2022. In 2023 the bank disbursed nearly 750.000 loans at the amount of nearly €1 billion – 33% more compared to 2022. The growth is due to the contribution of both segments – retail in all three markets of operation and small and medium enterprises in Romania.

tbi reports an impressive nearly 40% growth in total assets as to the end of December 2023, reaching €1.48 billion (from €1.07 billion at the end of December 2022). The loan portfolio reached an important milestone of €1.04 billion at the end of December 2023 (with 34% growth compared to end of 2022). 71% of applications for loans were made through self-service digital channels (compared to 51% for 2022) and thus digitalization contributes strongly to the record business results.

Based on such positive business performance, tbi bank's operating income grew by 32% to €203 million, mainly driven by 27% increase in net interest and supported by 25% growth of net fees and commissions income. This allowed operating profit for 2023 to reach €146 million.

Also, tbi bank's deposit portfolio reached €1.12 billion at the end of December 2023 – well outperforming the market and demonstrating a solid growth of 38% yoy. The main driver was retail term deposits portfolio, where the increase was even higher with 47% compared to December 2022.

The increase in the bank's general expenses by 20% to €96 million was mainly driven by accelerated business growth and investments into new business lines (neon scale-up) and markets (Greece scale-up).

At the end of 2023 the bank had a strong and well secured position from both liquidity and capital sides – on consolidated basis the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) being at 672% (much above banking sector average of 242%) and the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) – 22.5%. tbi bank's operations are showing constant improving discipline in terms of cost management (47.2% cost to income ratio in 2023 compared to 51.7% in 2022) and are combined with return on loan portfolio at 21.3%, allowing the return on equity to reach 20.9%. 

“I am proud of the record results and the team performance in the past year. Our customers know they can rely on us and so we maintain a strong financial standing, while exercising prudent risk management. We stay focused on what we do best: launching customer-focused products in Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece, providing a leading service and helping our communities – both retail and merchants - manage their financial lives in the best way possible”, says Petr Baron, CEO of tbi.