Earnings Release • Nov 11, 2021
Earnings Release
Open in ViewerOpens in native device viewer

PRESS RELEASE
Today the Board approved the 9M 2021 consolidated financial results.
Milan, 11th November 2021 – Today the Board of Directors of BFF Bank S.p.A. ("BFF" or the "Bank") approved the first nine months consolidated financial accounts, following the acquisition and merger by incorporation of DEPObank – Banca Depositaria Italiana S.p.A. ("DEPObank") into BFF, with accounting and fiscal consolidation effective on 1 st March 2021.
Therefore, the 9M21 reported consolidated Profit and Loss includes DEPObank for the whole month of March 2021 and the whole 2 nd and 3 rd quarter 20212 .
1 Including DEPObank from 1stJanuary 2021.
2 Purchase Price Allocation (the "PPA") has not been completed yet, and the badwill resulting from DEPObank acquisition could change at completion.

The 9M21 Adjusted consolidated Profit and Loss includes DEPObank from 1st January 2021, and is consequently adjusted for one-offs, discontinued operations, other not recurring items, and the badwill (for details, see footnote n° 3).
9M21 Adjusted Net Revenues were €233.5m in 9M21, of which €106.0m coming from Factoring & Lending, €41.0m from Securities Services and €46.8m from Payments. Interest expenses adjusted were equal to €(28.6)m, total Adjusted operating expenditures, including D&A, were €(132.4)m, and Adjusted LLPs and provisions for risks and charges were €2.8m.
This resulted in an Adjusted Profit before taxes of €103.8m, and an Adjusted Net Profit1 at €79.4m, +5.7% YoY despite €(20.5)m of mark-to-market (M2M) impact. 9M21 Reported Net Profit was €240.0m including "gross" badwill2 and the extraordinary impacts deriving from DEPObank acquisition.
Employees at Group level were 862 at the end 9M21 (890 at the end of 9M20 for BFF & DEPObank combined), of which 369 in the Factoring, Lending & Credit Management business unit (376 in 9M20), 180 in Securities Services (177 in 9M20), 49 in Payments (49 in 9M20), and 264 in the Corporate Center (staff, control functions, finance & administration, technology and processes improvement. 288 in 9M20).
3 Adjusted P&L numbers exclude €160.6m after taxes in 9M21 vs. €(19.3)m after taxes in 9M20. Positive impacts:
Negative impacts:
• €9.5m after taxes (€13.4m before taxes) in 9M21 of Liability Management one-off costs;
• €5.1m of two months of ex-DEPObank's non-consolidated adjusted result in 9M21 vs. €15.2m in 9M20;
• €2.9m after taxes (€2.3m before taxes) in 9M21 for ex-DEPObank's customer contract amortisation;
• €2.9m after taxes (€3.1m before taxes) costs in 9M21 (€1.1m after taxes and €1.5m before taxes in 9M20) related to the Stock Option Plan 2016 and the Stock Option Plan 2020. This item generates a positive equity reserve, with therefore no impact on Group's equity;
• €2.0m after taxes (€2.8m before taxes) in 9M21 (€0.5m after taxes and €0.7m before taxes in 9M20) of contribution to the Extraordinary Resolution Fund;
• €0.03m after taxes (€0.04m before taxes) in 9M21 (positive impact of €3.9m after taxes and €5.5m before taxes in 9M20), due to the change in PLN/€ exchange rate on the acquisition loan for the purchase of BFF Polska Group, which is offset by a positive change in equity reserve (included in the capital ratios), reflecting the natural hedging between these two balance sheet items;
• €5.3m after taxes (€3.5m before taxes) in 9M20 of M&A costs;
• €1.2m in 9M20 of current taxation charges arising from the one-off 2019 dividends distribution by the subsidiaries to the Parent Company BFF.

The Factoring and the International Markets units have been merged, integrating all Factoring & Lending activities into 1 department, with the aim to (i) strengthen the focus on traditional business, (ii) increase business development opportunities, and (iii) align credit management practices, improving recovery capacity.
Despite high liquidity in Italy and Spain accelerated the collection of newest invoices as in 1H21, at the end of Sep-21 Net Customer Loans were €3,467m, -6% YoY (+17% YoY excluding Italy and Spain) vs. -11% YoY in 1H21 and -11% YoY in 1Q21, thus recovering from previous quarters negative trend.
The loans' book strongly increased in Portugal (+61% YoY) and Greece (+39% YoY), supported by higher volumes. Italy loan portfolio decreased by 12% YoY, still suffering from the acceleration of payment of current invoices. In 9M21 in Spain the Government allocated €27.7bn to the Autonomous Communities4 to accelerate payments, and customer loans decreased by 32% YoY.
International markets (Spain, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia, and France) represented 43% of total loans at the end of Sep-21 (vs. 46% at the end of Jun-21 and 39% at the end of Sep-20), partially offsetting Italy's lower portfolio.
In 9M21 BFF recorded New Business Volumes of €3.8bn, in line with 9M20, with Italy -2% YoY at €2.0bn, and Spain's volumes roughly stable YoY above €1.0bn. Portugal and Greece were up by 83% and 43% YoY respectively; Poland recorded -18% YoY, but loans (mainly direct lending to public hospitals and local Governments units) have a longer duration.
The gross yield on average loans declined at 5.0% vs. 5.4% in 9M20, and Interest expenses of the business unit decreased to €36.8m in 9M21 vs. €52.8m in 9M20, mainly driven by a smaller loan portfolio. Net Interest Income decreased to €134.2m in 9M21, reducing YoY gap vs. 1H21, mainly thanks to positive contribution on revenues coming from BFF Polska Group in the 3 rd quarter; Net Interest Income/RWAs was 8.2% vs. 6.3% in 9M205 .
Collections of late payment interests (LPIs) increased by 12% at €35m, and net LPIs overrecoveries improved to €(3.0)m in 9M21 from €(5.8)m, with positive contribution of Spain. LPIs stock continued to grow (+3% YoY at €721m before taxes), with an unrecognized off-balance sheet LPIs6 at €424m, stable YoY.
Net fee and commission income grew by 44% YoY, thanks to the good performance of the credit management services.
4 Source: Ministerio De Hacienda, Sistemas de Financiación y Deuda Pública.
5 End of the period RWAs. 9M21 ratio benefits from the reduction of the RWAs in 4Q 2020, due to the application of the 20% risk-weighting factor to in bonisreceivables towards Public Administration with less than 3 months duration (ex art. 116 CRR) from 31/12/2020.
6 The stock of LPIs accrued, but that has not been collected and, therefore, not gone through the P&L yet.

Direct OPEX & D&A increased by 6% YoY at €(28.1)m, mainly due to higher investments in BFF Polska, with an Annualised Operating Costs/Average Loans ratio of the business unit at 1.1%, despite the reduction of loans' portfolio. Negligible Cost of Risk (LLPs <€0.5m), declining YoY and maintained close to zero.
Profit Before Taxes decreased by 6% YoY at €78m, but improving the YoY gap (-9% YoY in 1H21).
At the end of Sep-21 Depositary Bank's Assets under Depositary (AuD) increased at €83bn (+16% YoY), vs. €76bn at YE20 and €72bn at the end of Sep-20, thanks to new business development initiatives, especially in the AIF segment, and better market performance. Deposits from customers amounted to €5.5bn, normalising at 6.7% on total AuD (vs. 8.0% at the end of Jun-21 and 9.5% at the end of Mar-21), thanks to liquidity management performed in 1H21 through deposits repricing.
Global Custody's Assets under Custody (AuC) increased by 22% YoY to €172bn continuing to benefit, as in 1H21, from higher assets (mainly deriving from M&A activity of an existing client), and market performance7 .
In 9M21 Net Fee and Commission Income grew by 9% YoY at €34.0m, driven by higher AuD and AuC. Operating costs slightly decreased by 2% (with -8% YoY in G&A), and Profit Before Taxes significantly increased by 18% YoY.
Besides, new ESG products for Asset Management companies in the Securities Services area has recently been launched.
At the end of Sep-21 deposits amounted to €2.25bn vs. €2.1bn as of 30/09/2020. Transactions of transfer and collections increased by 11% YoY at #228m, thanks to positive performance of bank transfers.
Card settlement transactions were roughly stable at #139m compared to 9M20, but still 18% lower than 9M19, due to exposure to COVID-19 pandemic effects.
Checks and receivables transactions declined at market trends (#19m vs. #26m in 9M20).
Corporate payments transactions were up by 7% YoY at #43m, mainly due to positive performance of pension payments service and new clients.
In 9M21 Net Fee and Commission Income increased by €3.5m (+12% YoY at €33.1m), thanks to rebound of transfer and collections services, with card settlement not back yet to pre COVID-19
7 AuC is impacted by market performance only on the equity component vs. AuD, which is impacted in all its components due to the periodic NAV calculation.

volumes. Besides, BFF won the extension for the 9y tender for the management of the Guarantee Fund for SMEs up to 2030, and total Net Revenues were up by 28% YoY. Profit Before Taxes significantly raised by 66% vs. 9M20, driven by economy recovery after the slowdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The Corporate Center comprises all the revenues and costs not directly allocated to the three business units, as well as the treasury margin. 9M21 lower Net Interest Income YoY was primarily due to M2M accounting effect on ex-DEPObank HTC bond portfolio deflated yield at maturity8 (2021: €(27.3)m, of which €(20.5)m in 9M21; 2022: €(21.2)m; 2023: ≥€(4.7)m), that generated also a positive impact on capital (€53.2m before taxes).
There has been no cost of excess liquidity in European Central Bank (ECB) from late Jun-21 (vs. €6.2m of additional costs YoY above tiering in 1H21).
Some initiatives were executed to drive performance:
Target synergies was already locked-in from 31st December 2021:
Finally, on 8th November 2021 the DEPObank core banking IT system was migrated onto the BFF core banking provider.
As of 30/09/2021 the consolidated Balance Sheet was roughly stable at €11.1bn compared to 30/06/2021 (+0.2% QoQ), following the reduction of liquidity in ECB (cash down by €0.4bn, -54% QoQ), by maintaining excess cash below ECB tiering (with no costs), and repricing of deposits from Transaction Services (down by €0.7bn, -8% QoQ).
After the merger of DEPObank, the following BFF's funding was partially or totally paid down:
• wholesale funding was almost closed (vs. €1.4m as of 30/06/2021, €615m as of 31/03/2021 and €1.1bn at YE20);
8 In compliance with IFRS3 and with a corresponding net positive impact on capital of €33.8m (see slide n° 5 of 1Q 2021 Results presentation).

The Group maintained a strong liquidity position, with a 276.4% Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) as of 30/09/2021. The Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) and the leverage ratio, at the same date, were equal to 189.4% and 3.8% respectively. From 2Q21 the NSFR is positively impacted by the new regulation, which establishes more favourable weighting factors for the assets and liabilities related to factoring activities.
At the end of Sep-21 the Government HTC bond portfolio was equal to €5,615m (+9% QoQ, with purchases for c. €0.5bn in 3Q21) vs. €5,503m for BFF & DEPObank combined HTC and HTC&S portfolio at the end of Sep-20. As of 30/09/2021 the HTC portfolio had a duration of 32.6 months, and a positive M2M equal to €46m after taxes (not recognised neither in the P&L nor in the balance sheet).
The Group continues to benefit from a very low exposures towards the private sector, with prudent provisioning and negligible credit risk. Net NPLs excluding Italian Municipalities in conservatorship were €8.5m, at 0.2% of net loans (2.2% including Italian Municipalities in conservatorship), with a 66% Coverage ratio. CET1 was not negatively impacted by calendar provisioning.
The excellent asset quality is confirmed, with an annualised Cost of Risk of zero basis points in 9M21 (vs. 7.7bps at YE20 and 10.3bps in 9M20 of BFF stand-alone), due to portfolio contraction and IFRS 9 release.
The increase in total net NPLs from €66.8m at YE20 (BFF stand-alone) to €79.4m as of 30/09/2021 was driven by the growing exposure towards the Italian Municipalities in conservatorship ("Comuni in dissesto"), from €64.0m (YE20) to €70.9m (9M21), and by other NPLs, which increased at €8.5m (vs. €2.8m at YE20 of BFF stand-alone) due to a classification change from UTP to NPL (made in 1Q21) of a fully-guaranteed exposure in Poland. The Italian Municipalities in conservatorship are exposures classified as NPLs by regulation, despite BFF is legally entitled to receive 100% of the principal and LPIs at the end of the process.
At the end of Sep-21 net Past Due amounted to €1.3m, compared to €42.1m and €45.0m at the end of Dec-20 and Sep-20 respectively of BFF stand-alone.
Total Net impaired assets (non-performing, unlikely to pay and past due) were €93.1m as of 30/09/2021 (€124.6m at YE20 and €127.5m as of 30/09/2020 of BFF stand-alone), 79% of which were towards public sector.

The Group maintains a strong capital position with a CET1 ratio of 18.5% (vs. 7.85% SREP), and a Total Capital ratio (TCR) of 22.9% (well above both the Bank's TCR target of 15%, and the 12.05% SREP), with €176m of capital in excess of 15% TCR target.
Both ratios exclude c. €244.6m of accrued dividends (€165.3m of residual 2019 & 2020 accrued dividends, paid in October 2021, and €79.4 of 9M21 Adjusted Net Income). Including net profit of the period, CET1 ratio and TCR would be 22.1% and 26.5% respectively.
BFF did not to apply any of the ECB/EBA emergency measure or the European Commission's banking package for COVID-19.
Risk-Weighted Assets (RWAs) calculation is based on the Basel Standard Model, and on 31st December 2020 BFF has aligned its approach to the one already used by its competitors, applying a 20% risk-weight for public exposures lower than 90 days, towards other public administration different from local and central government10 . This allowed BFF to decouple the portfolio's riskweightings from sovereign ratings. As of 30/09/2021 RWAs were €2.2bn (vs. €1.6bn at YE20 of BFF stand-alone), with a density11 of 44%, vs. 39% at YE20 and 57% as of 30/09/2020.
9 9M21 capital ratios benefits from the reduction of the RWAs in 4Q 2020, due to the application of a 20% risk-weight to in bonis receivables towards Public Administration with less than 3 months duration (ex art. 116 CRR) from 31/12/2020.
10 Under the new rules of "New DoD", as of 31/12/2020 BFF's in bonis receivables portfolio with less than 3 months duration is risk-weighted at 20%, vs., for instance, the previous 100% in Italy, 100% in Portugal and 50% in Slovakia for NHS.
11 Calculated as RWAs/Total assets excluding HTC and Cash and Cash Balances.

***
The Financial Reporting Officer, Claudio Rosi, declares, pursuant to paragraph 2 of article 154-bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance ("Testo Unico della Finanza"), that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the document results, accounting books, and records of the Bank.
***
9M 2021 results will be presented tomorrow, 12th November, at 10:00 CET (09:00 WET) during a conference call, that can be followed after registering at this link. The invitation is published in the Investors > Results > Financial results section of BFF Group's website.
***
This press release is available on-line on BFF Group's website www.bff.com within the section: Investors > PR & Presentations.
BFF Banking Group is the largest independent specialty finance in Italy and a leading player in Europe, specialized forthe management and non-recourse factoring of trade receivables due from the Public Administrations, securities services, banking and corporate payments. The Group operates in Italy, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain. BFF is listed on the Italian Stock Exchange. In 2020 it reported a consolidated Adjusted Net Profit of € 97.6 million, with a 18.5% Group CET1 ratio at the end of September 2021. www.bff.com

Caterina Della Mora, Claudia Zolin [email protected] +39 02 49905 631 | +39 02 49905 620 | +39 335 1295 008
Alessia Barrera [email protected] +39 02 49905 616
Iberia Mariana Sousa +351 210 164 760
Poland and Central Eastern Europe Ewelina Kolad +48 42 272 82 90

| 31/12/2020 | 30/09/2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | (BFF & DEPObank) |
|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 173,280,377 | 363,008,057 |
| Financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss | - | 42,528,688 |
| a) financial assets held for trading | - | 8,794,206 |
| b) financial assets designated at fair value | - | - |
| c) other financial assets mandatorily measured at fair value | - | 33,734,482 |
| Financial assets measured at fair value through OCI | 163,924 | 83,516,397 |
| Financial assets measured at amortized cost | 5,780,579,449 | 10,092,600,957 |
| a) due from banks | 31,078,082 | 815,828,927 |
| b) due from customers | 5,749,501,367 | 9,276,772,030 |
| Hedging instruments | - | 5,765,000 |
| Equity investments | 87,944 | 13,076,631 |
| Property, plant, and equipment | 18,014,021 | 37,430,668 |
| Intangible assets | 36,675,140 | 134,238,643 |
| of which: goodwill | 30,874,236 | 111,891,261 |
| Tax assets | 15,333,003 | 113,527,029 |
| a) current | 4,090,128 | 45,972,940 |
| b) deferred | 11,242,874 | 67,554,090 |
| Other assets | 27,179,709 | 177,646,427 |
| Total consolidated assets | 6,051,313,567 | 11,063,338,497 |

| 31/12/2020 | 30/09/2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Liabilities and Equity | (BFF & DEPObank) |
|
| Financial liabilities measured at amortized cost | 5,415,184,174 | 9,695,682,563 |
| a) deposits from banks | 1,034,654,607 | 773,510,337 |
| b) deposits from customers | 3,571,621,161 | 8,737,924,718 |
| c) securities issued | 808,908,406 | 184,247,508 |
| Financial Liabilities Held for Trading | - | 660,917 |
| Hedging derivatives | - | 225,760 |
| Tax liabilities | 83,697,710 | 103,785,111 |
| a) current | 5,824,367 | 4,423,896 |
| b) deferred | 77,873,344 | 99,361,215 |
| Other liabilities | 82,804,576 | 454,501,501 |
| Employee severance indemnities | 666,641 | 3,732,919 |
| Provisions for risks and charges: | 6,381,691 | 21,587,764 |
| a) guarantees provided and commitments | 527,436 | 202,818 |
| b) pension funds and similar obligations | 4,776,556 | 5,779,316 |
| c) other provisions | 1,077,699 | 15,605,631 |
| Valuation reserves | 1,456,095 | 4,604,222 |
| Reserves | 241,473,311 | 331,660,728 |
| Share premium | 693,106 | 66,492,997 |
| Share capital | 131,400,994 | 142,665,054 |
| Treasury shares | (3,517,312) | (2,261,007) |
| Minority interests | - | - |
| Profit for the year | 91,072,581 | 239,999,967 |
| Total consolidated liabilities and equity | 6,051,313,567 | 11,063,338,497 |

| 9M 2020 | 9M 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Profit & Loss items | ||
| (BFF & DEPObank) |
||
| Interest and similar income | 170,689,553 | 157,095,866 |
| Interest and similar expenses | (36,559,413) | (29,631,217) |
| Net interest income | 134,130,140 | 127,464,649 |
| Fee and commission income | 4,620,696 | 76,939,933 |
| Fee and commission expenses | (1,265,647) | (19,953,383) |
| Net fees and commissions | 3,355,049 | 56,986,550 |
| Dividend income and similar revenue | (0.1) | 3,671,407 |
| Gains/(Losses) on trading | 5,808,462 | (5,630,270) |
| Fair value adjustments in hedge accounting | - | 8,822,017 |
| Gains/(Losses) on disposals/repurchases of: | 90,449 | (12,649,892) |
| a) financial assets measured at amortized cost | - | (15) |
| b) financial assets measured at fair value through OCI | 34,447 | - |
| c) financial liabilities | 56,001 | (12,649,877) |
| Net income from other financial assets and liabilities at fair value | - | 2,754,536 |
| a) financial assets and liabilities designated at fair value | - | - |
| b) other financial assets compulsorily valued at fair value | - | 2,754,536 |
| Net banking income | 143,384,100 | 181,418,997 |
| Impairment (losses)/reversals on: | (2,843,151) | 179,307 |
| a) receivables and loans | (2,847,146) | 325,896 |
| b) available-for-sale financial assets | 3,995 | (146,589) |
| Net profit from banking activities | 140,540,949 | 181,598,303 |
| Net profit from financial and insurance activities | 140,540,949 | 181,598,303 |
| Administrative expenses | (64,417,364) | (122,674,763) |
| a) personnel costs | (30,705,837) | (52,432,444) |
| b) other administrative expenses | (33,711,527) | (70,242,319) |
| Net provisions for risks and charges | (557,913) | 1,189,774 |
| a) commitments and guarantees provided | (63,733) | 324,373 |
| b) other net provisions | (494,180) | 865,401 |
| Net (adjustments to)/writebacks on property, plant, and equipment | (2,671,856) | (3,753,206) |
| Net (adjustments to)/writebacks on intangible assets | (1,554,559) | (7,164,462) |
| Other operating (expenses)/income | 4,834,351 | 181,344,375 |
| Total operating expenses | (64,367,341) | 48,941,717 |
| Gains (Losses) on equity investments | - | 164,713 |
| Profit before tax from continuing operations | 76,173,607 | 230,704,733 |
| Income taxes on profit from continuing operations | (20,393,140) | 9,295,234 |
| Profit after taxes from continuing operations | 55,780,467 | 239,999,967 |
| Profit for the year | 55,780,467 | 239,999,967 |
| Profit for the year attributable to owners of the Parent Company | 55,780,467 | 239,999,967 |

| 30/09/2019 | 30/09/2020 | 31/12/2020 | 30/09/2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values in €m | (pre "New DoD") |
(pre "New DoD") |
(post "New DoD") |
(BFF & DEPObank and post "New DoD") |
| Credit and Counterparty Risk | 143.4 | 143.8 | 96.6 | 125.5 |
| Market Risk | - | - | - | 0.8 |
| Operational Risk | 29.6 | 32.5 | 32.6 | 51.9 |
| Total capital requirements | 173.0 | 176.3 | 129.3 | 178.2 |
| Risk Weighted Assets (RWAs) | 2,162.6 | 2,203.3 | 1,615.7 | 2,227.8 |
| CET 1 | 242.5 | 265.1 | 251.1 | 411.9 |
| Tier I | - | - | - | - |
| Tier II | 98.2 | 98.2 | 98.2 | 98.2 |
| Own Funds | 340.7 | 363.3 | 349.4 | 510.2 |
| CET 1 Capital ratio | 11.2% | 12.0% | 15.5% | 18.5% |
| Tier I Capital ratio | 11.2% | 12.0% | 15.5% | 18.5% |
| Total Capital ratio | 15.8% | 16.5% | 21.6% | 22.9% |

| 30/09/2021 (BFF & DEPObank and after 20% RW application) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| € 000 | Gross | Provisions | Net |
| Non-performing loans (NPLs) | 96,068 | (16,651) | 79,416 |
| Unlikely to pay | 17,355 | (4,898) | 12,457 |
| Past due | 1,307 | (25) | 1,282 |
| Total impaired assets | 114,729 | (21,574) | 93,156 |
| 31/12/2020 (after 20% RW application) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| € 000 | Gross | Provisions | Net |
| Non-performing loans (NPLs) | 81,582 | (14,761) | 66,821 |
| Unlikely to pay | 18,743 | (3,040) | 15,703 |
| Past due | 42,232 | (127) | 42,105 |
| Total impaired assets | 142,557 | (17,928) | 124,629 |
| 30/09/2020 (before 20% RW application) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| € 000 | Gross | Provisions | Net |
| Non-performing loans (NPLs) | 80,916 | (14,106) | 66,811 |
| Unlikely to pay | 17,984 | (2,269) | 15,715 |
| Past due | 46,531 | (1,528) | 45,003 |
| Total impaired assets | 145,432 | (17,903) | 127,529 |
| 30/09/2019 (before 20% RW application) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| € 000 | Gross | Provisions | Net |
| Non-performing loans (NPLs) | 66,936 | (12,060) | 54,876 |
| Unlikely to pay | 12,962 | (2,108) | 10,854 |
| Past due | 34,384 | (91) | 34,293 |
| Total impaired assets | 114,282 | (14,259) | 100,023 |
Building tools?
Free accounts include 100 API calls/year for testing.
Have a question? We'll get back to you promptly.