Bank Handlowy w Warszawie S.A., trading as Citi Handlowy, reported a 21% return on equity for the second quarter of 2026, reflecting the impact of its exit from retail banking and continued growth in corporate lending.
Net profit for the quarter reached PLN 321 million, an 18% increase from the first half of 2025, though continuing operations contributed PLN 276 million, down 24% year-over-year. Total revenue for the period amounted to PLN 878 million, with corporate banking and financial markets revenue at PLN 696 million, a 16% decline from Q2 2025 but up 3.4% on a half-year basis.
Corporate banking revenue rose 7% quarter-over-quarter to PLN 423 million, while financial markets revenue fell 53% sequentially to PLN 273 million. Net interest income totaled PLN 459 million, down 13% year-over-year, with a net interest margin of 3.58%, below the 4.41% recorded a year earlier but still above the sector average of 3.10%. Fee and commission income increased 11% year-over-year to PLN 119 million, driven by a 58% surge in brokerage fees.
Loan growth continued, with total customer loans reaching PLN 21.1 billion, up 13% year-over-year. Institutional client loans expanded 16% to PLN 17.9 billion, supported by a 33% increase in assets from global clients, which now account for 38% of total loans and 41% of revenue. Deposits grew 12% year-over-year to PLN 47.1 billion, maintaining a conservative loans-to-deposits ratio of 42%.
The bank’s total capital ratio improved to 25.8%, up from 20.3% in the prior quarter and 23.8% a year earlier. Operating expenses rose 24% year-over-year to PLN 211 million, though the cost-to-income ratio narrowed to 30%, down from 34% in Q1 2026. The cost of risk increased to PLN 59 million, with Stage 3 loans declining to 1.6% of the non-financial sector portfolio.
Total assets decreased 14% year-over-year to PLN 72.6 billion, reflecting the separation of consumer banking operations. Equity rose 1% to PLN 9.3 billion, with retained earnings up 89% to PLN 1.1 billion. The bank’s P/E ratio stood at approximately 9.8 in July 2026, below the peer average of 11.8 for Poland’s eight largest banks.
Citi Handlowy highlighted several key transactions, including a PLN 2.2 billion syndicated loan for TELE-FONIKA, a PLN 1.25 billion bond issue arranged for the European Investment Bank, and a PLN 6.1 billion accelerated share offering for Allegro, where it served as global co-coordinator. Brokerage transactions processed by the bank rose 16% year-over-year to PLN 7.4 billion.
The bank’s shares declined 3.54% to $119.80 following the results, after reaching PLN 123.00 on August 21, 2026. Over the prior year, the stock gained 22%, underperforming the WIG-Banks index, which rose 37%.
