Discount bank 2nd Q: net profit of NIS 1.52 billion

Discount Bank publishes very strong results for the second quarter and the first half of 2021. Discount, managed by Uri Levin, ended the second quarter with a net profit of NIS 860 million, almost five times compared to the corresponding quarter in 2020. This profit represents a return on equity of 18.3%, compared to 3.7% in the corresponding quarter. Discount ended the first half of 2021 with a net profit of NIS 1.52 billion, compared with NIS 423 million in the corresponding period. This profit represents a return on equity of 16.1% (4.8% in the corresponding period)).
Discount recorded revenues of NIS 410 million in the second quarter following the collection of debts and the cancellation of provisions made in the past, compared with expenses of NIS 532 million in the corresponding quarter in 2020. These results were affected, among other things, by revenues on an individual basis in the amount of NIS 163 million in the second quarter of the year, which included collection revenues from credit in the amount of NIS 140 million. In the first half of 2021, income in the item of credit losses was recorded in the amount of NIS 557 million, compared with expenses of NIS 1.2 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Net credit to the public amounted to NIS 199 billion as of the end of June 2021 - an increase of 5.4% compared to the end of 2020. Most of the increase was recorded in credit of 10.2% for medium-sized businesses and mortgages of 10.5%. In the second quarter of 2021, credit to medium-sized businesses increased by 7.9%, and credit to housing (mortgages) increased by 6.3%.
Net interest income in the second quarter amounted to NIS 1.68 billion - an increase of 15.2% compared to the corresponding quarter last year. In the first half of 2021, interest income amounted to NIS 3.2 billion, an increase of 9.3% compared to the corresponding period in 2020. Discount showed a 8.4% decrease in salary expenses in the second quarter of the year, compared to the corresponding quarter in 2020 (excluding expenses for grants).