Business Forum • 14 August, 2024 at 2:16 PM
Maib, the largest bank in Moldova, reports solid performance in the first semester of 2024. The net profit reached MDL 694.3 million, equivalent to €36.1 million (average exchange rate: MDL/EUR 19.21), a 5.6% increase YoY (year-on-year). The Return on Average equity (ROE) stood at 18.0% in H1 2024, compared to 19.0% in H1 2023, reflecting a falling net interest margin due to rapid declines in base rate
Maib paid a record dividend of MDL 7.30 per share (MDL 757 million in total), from the profit obtained in the period 2021-2023. The General Meeting of Shareholders approved the purchase of 3% of own shares by maib, a process that will begin after the approval of the regulatory authorities.
Giorgi Shagidze, CEO maib: „I am pleased with the results achieved in the first half of 2024 when maib has strengthened its market position alongside an increase in profit. Our mobile application continues to be a key driver of the bank's growth, offering both a user-friendly experience and an increasingly wide range of services. The maibank app has already surpassed 676k users, a significant increase of 35% over a year. Thanks to our strong digital platform, we have the capacity to explore new ambitious growth avenues. The bank's profitability has made possible a record dividend payment of MDL 7.3 per share, as well as the upcoming share buyback program. I express my gratitude to the maib team and customers, as well as to our shareholders and partners, for the results achieved.”
In the first six months of 2024, 72% of all retail deposits were opened online, and the share of retail loans contracted online was 67%. In the future, maib is considering the possibility of international expansion with an exclusively digital offering in Romania, focused on the needs of the Moldovan diaspora and the subsequent expansion of services to the Romanian consumer market.
Highlights in the first half of 2024:
· Maib's market shares as of 30 June 2023, were as follows:
- Market share of total assets – 35.8%, up by 1.8 pp YoY;
- Market share of total loans – 38.0%, up by 0.6 pp YoY;
- Market share of total deposits – 36.1%, up by 1.8 pp YoY;
- The net interest margin (NIM) reached 4.1% in Q2 2024, a quarterly decrease of 0.3 pp.
- As of June 30, 2024, total assets amounted to MDL 57,666 million, an increase of 10.3% compared to December 31, 2023.
- The total loans granted by the bank amounted to MDL 26,288 million, an increase of 11% compared to the end of last year.
Moldova's economy grew by 1.9% in the first quarter of 2024. According to relevant forecasts, economic growth is expected to reach 2.8% this year and 3.8% next year. The presidential elections are scheduled for October this year, on the same date as the constitutional referendum on Moldova's accession to the European Union.
Maib is the largest bank in the Republic of Moldova, systemically important, serving nearly one- third of the country's population. As of 2018, maib's largest shareholder is HEIM, a consortium, which includes the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Invalda INVL, a leading asset management group in the Baltic States, and Horizon Capital, a private equity fund focused on emerging markets in Europe.