Earnings Release • May 10, 2021
Earnings Release
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PRESS RELEASE
COMUNICATO STAMPA
Today the Board approved the 1Q2021 consolidated financial results.
Milan, 10th May 2021 – Today the Board of Directors of BFF Bank S.p.A. ("BFF" or the "Bank") approved the first quarter 2021 consolidated financial accounts, the first consolidated 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 1Q21 reported consolidated Profit and Loss includes DEPObank for the whole month of March 2021. The Purchase Price Allocation ("PPA") has not been completed yet, and the badwill resulting from the transaction could change upon completion of the PPA.
The 1Q21 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. The comparative numbers of 1Q20 and 1Q19 Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss include DEPObank for each entire respective quarter.

Adjusted revenues were €76.0m in 1Q21, of which €36.2m coming from the Factoring & Lending core business, with total adjusted operating expenditures (including D&A) of €41.1m.
The employees at Group level were 881 at the end 1Q21 (of which 375 in the Factoring, Lending & Credit Management business unit, 177 in Securities Services, 49 in Payments, and 280 in the Corporate center (staff, control functions, finance & administration, technology and processes improvement).
Reported Loan Loss Provisions ("LLPs") were €0.1m in 1Q21 compared to €0.3m in 1Q20, with the NPLs Coverage ratio (excluding the Italian municipalities in conservatorship) at 72% as of 31/03/2021. The annualised Cost of Risk was zero basis points in 1Q21.
Adjusted Profit Before Taxes was €35.5m in 1Q21, roughly stable vs. €35.0m in 1Q20 like-forlike.
1Q21 Reported Net Income raised to €184.3m, because of the gross badwill (that could change post PPA conclusion), with the ex-DEPObank intangibles included in consolidated Balance Sheet. Adjusted Net Income was €27.8m (+8% yoy), thanks to the good performance of Transaction Services businesses (Securities Services and Payments) and lower costs.
Both the Net Interest Income and the Net Banking Income decreased by €2m yoy in 1Q21, impacted by lower starting loan portfolio driven by faster collections at YE20. Net Interest Income/RWAs2 was 8.2% vs. 5.9% in 1Q20, positively impacted by 20% risk-weight applied to in bonis receivables with less than 3 months duration from 31-Dec-2020.
1 Adjusted P&L numbers exclude €156.4m after taxes in 1Q21 vs. €(2.8)m after taxes in 1Q20. Positive impacts:
•€161.5m after taxes (€159.8m before taxes) in 1Q21 related to badwill and transaction & restructuring costs;
•€1.2m after taxes (€1.7m before taxes) in 1Q21 (€4.0m after taxes and €5.6m before taxes in 1Q20), due to the change in PLN/€ exchange rate on the acquisition loan for the purchase of BFF Polska Group, which is offset by a negative change in equity reserve (included in the capital ratios), reflecting the natural hedging between these two balance sheet items.
Negative impacts:
•€5.1m of two months of ex-DEPObank's non-consolidated adjusted result in 1Q21 vs. €7.2m in 1Q20;
•€0.8m after taxes (€1.1m before taxes) costs in 1Q21 (€0.3m after taxes and €0.4m before taxes in 2020) 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;
•€0.4m after taxes (€0.6m before taxes) in 1Q21 for ex-DEPObank's customer contract amortisation;
•€1.2m of current taxation charges arising from the one-off 2019 dividends distribution by the subsidiaries to the Parent Company BFF in 1Q20;
•€0.1m after taxes (€0.1m before taxes) M&A costs in 1Q20.
2 End of the period RWAs. The 1Q21 ratio benefits from the reduction of the RWAs in 4Q 2020, due to the application of the 20% risk-weighting (ex art. 116 CRR) from 31-Dec-2020.

High liquidity positively impacted collections of LPIs (€12m vs. €8m in 1Q20),with net LPIsoverrecovery higher vs. 1Q20. The stock of unrecognized off-balance sheet LPIs (the stock of LPIs accrued, but that has not been collected and has not gone through the P&L yet), increased by €10m yoy to €418m at the end of Mar-21. The total LPIs stock amounted to €700m before taxes (+6% yoy). All LPIs over-recoveries are accounted when cash-collected, and there is no sale of LPIs to third parties.
The interest expenses decreased to €12.5m in 1Q21 vs. €20.2m in 1Q20, mainly driven by the reduction of the Zloty funding3 and the smaller loan portfolio. The gross yield on average loans was impacted both by faster collection dynamics and by the WIBOR reduction for 22bps vs. 1Q20.
Recovery of credit collection costs are accounted on a cash basis in Other Operating Income (P&L item "230"), which was stable at €1.5m in 1Q21.
Annualised Operating Costs/Average Loans and Cost/Income4 ratios of the BU remained stable at 0.9% and 24% respectively, thanks to the good discipline on costs.
BFF recorded overall New Business Volume of €1,107m, -6% year-on-year, mainly driven by lower volume in Italy (-7% yoy) and Poland (-30% yoy, -27% at constant FX rate). Portugal and Greece up by 110% and 32% yoy respectively.
High liquidity accelerated the collection of newest invoices, and at the end of Mar-21 Net Customer Loans were €3,330m, -11% yoy to compared to €3,738m at the end of 1Q20, with different performance among countries. Geographic diversification partially offset the negative performance of the domestic and Spanish markets; international markets (Spain, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia, and France) represented 42% of total loans at the end of 1Q21, up from 37% at the end of 1Q20. Loans in Italy dropped by €413m yoy, with the factoring market down by -8.8% yoy in 1Q215 , and in Spain by €106m yoy, with the Government allocating c. €12bn to the Autonomous Communities6 in the same period. Strong performance in Portugal (+58% yoy), Greece (+60% yoy), and +3% yoy the portfolio in Central-Eastern Europe – Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia – (€884m).
At the end of March-21 Depositary Bank's Assets under Depositary (AuD) increased by 19% yoy at €77.7bn vs. €76.0bn at YE20, thanks to positive:
(i) market performance compared to 1Q20, which had been critically impacted by Covid-19 on financial markets, and
3 After that National Bank of Poland cut the reference rate by 50bps on 9-Apr-20 and by additional 40bps on 28-May-20.
4 Calculated as (OPEX and D&A)/(Net Banking Income and Other operating income).
5 Advances to customers in Italy as of 31-March-2021; source: preliminary data by Assifact.
6 Source: Ministerio De Hacienda, Sistemas de Financiación y Deuda Pública.

(ii) effect of new business development initiatives, in particular in the Alternative Investment Funds segment.
Deposits from customers amounted to €7.4m, reaching 9.5% of total Assets under Management (vs. 9.0% at the end of 1Q20). Commissions' trend (€3.8m in 1Q21 vs. €3.4m in 1Q20) was in line with AuD growth.
Fund Accountingand Transfer Agent trends were driven by the Depositary Bank's performance.
Global Custody's Assets under Custody (AuC) increased by 20% yoy to €161.9bn thanks to (i) higher assets (mainly deriving from M&A activity of an existing client), and (ii) market performance7 . Commissions' growth (€2.7m in 1Q21 vs. €2.5m in 1Q20) was driven by higher volumes.
In 1Q21 Net Banking Income of the Securities Services business unit grew at €13.9m (vs. €12.9m in 1Q20), positively impacted by higher AuM.
At the end of Mar-21 deposits amounted to €0.8bn vs. €0.7bn in 1Q20, due to the positive trend of the intermediation business. In fact, in 1Q21 transactions of transfer and collections increased by 7% yoy at #74m, thanks to positive performance of SEPA bank transfers.
Card settlement transactions of the period were still impacted economy restrictions due to Covid-19 pandemic, but with higher commissions (+10% yoy at €5.0m) due to a surge in Guarantee Fund payments.
Checks and receivables transactions declined at market trends, but with almost stable yoy commissions (€1.1m), thanks to introduction at YE20 of a fixed fee along with the variable commission.
Corporate Payments transactions were +4% yoy at #14m, thanks to positive performance of INPS (Italian Social Security) pensions payments, with commissions trend in line with volumes trend.
Stable yoy Net Interest Income at €0.5m.
Net Fee and Commission Income increased by €0.9m (+9% yoy), as a result of the increasing revenues coming from Guarantee Fund services, that offset the Covid-19 pandemic effects on commercial activities.
Direct operational expenditures slightly increased at €7.5m (+3% yoy), but a slower pace than revenue growth.
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.

The Corporate Center comprises all the costs and revenues not directly allocated to the business units, and the treasury margin.
As regards funding synergies, wholesale funding lines and on-line deposits, in Euro and Zloty, have already been reduced, in order to deploy all expected synergies starting from 2Q 2021.
With regard to opex synergies: (i) already delivered initiatives able to generate €14m of synergies in 2022; (ii) put in place activities to optimize the SG&A run-rate cost base.
At the end of 1Q21 around 55% of transaction & integration costs (17m out of €35m) were already expensed; additional €2.3m already committed.
As of 31/03/2021 the consolidated Balance Sheet was smaller of c. €3.2bn vs. 31/12/2020 "sum of the part", despite higher deposits from depositary bank activity as of 31/03/2021(€9.4bn). In Mar-21, following the merger, initial deployment of DEPObank's liquidity in BFF's Factoring & Lending business began, which is due to continue during the remaining part of 2021.
Out from €4.9bn of DEPObank's ECB cash at YE20, the following BFF's funding was partially or totally paid down:
In addition to that, €255m of DEPObank's deposits were already deployed to business. Equity went also down due to cash consideration (for the acquisition of DEPObank), and mark-tomarket of HTC portfolio.
The Group maintained a strong liquidity position, with a 374.3% Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) as of 31/03/2021. The Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) and the leverage ratio, at the same date, were equal to 192.3% and 3.8% respectively. The NSFR of the Group will be positively impacted from 2Q 2021 by the new regulation, which establishes more favourable weighting factors for the assets and liabilities related to factoring activities (estimated 255.7% fully phased-in).
At the end of Mar-21 the Government bond portfolio (HTC and HTC&S) was equal to €4,940m – of which €4,856m HTC bonds – 37% of total assets, €0.3bn lower than 1Q20 (€5,208m like-forlike BFF and DEPObank). As of 31/03/2021 the mark-to-market of the HTC portfolio was positive for €40m after taxes (not recognised neither in the P&L nor in the balance sheet). At the end of 1Q21, the duration of the HTC portfolio was 25.8 months.

The Group continues to benefit from a very low exposure towards private sector, with prudent provisioning and negligible credit risk. Net NPLs excluding Italian Municipalities in conservatorship were €6.3m, at 0.2% of net loans, with a 72% Coverage ratio.
The excellent asset quality is confirmed, with an annualised Cost of Risk of zero basis points in 1Q21 (vs. 7.7bps at YE20 and 3.5bps in 1Q20 of BFF stand-alone), due to portfolio reduction.
The increase in total net NPLs from €66.8m at YE20 (BFF stand-alone) to €74.3m at end of 1Q21 was entirely driven by the growing exposure towards the Italian municipalities in conservatorship ("Comuni in dissesto"), from €64.0m (YE20) to €67.9m (1Q21). These exposures are classified as NPLs by regulation, despite BFF is legally entitled to receive 100% of the principal and LPIs at the end of the process (collected 100% of closed conservatorships).
Significant reduction in past due under "New Definition of Default" regulation: at the end of 1Q21 net Past Due amounted to €5.8m compared to €42.1m and €53.4m at the end of Dec-20 and Mar-20 respectively.
Net impaired assets (non-performing, unlikely to pay and past due) were €91.7m as of 31/03/2021 (€124.6m at YE20 and €127.0m as of 31/03/2020), 75% of which were towards public sector.
The Group maintains a strong capital position and confirms its ability to organically fund growth, with a CET1 ratio of 17.3% (vs. a 2020 SREP of 7.85%), and a Total Capital ratio of 21.7% (well above the Company's target of 15% for the dividend policy, and above a 2020 SREP of 12.05%), with €151m of capital in excess of 15% Total Capital ratio target post DEPObank acquisition.
Both ratios exclude c. €193m of accrued dividends (the remaining €67.9m of 2019 Dividend, along with €97.6m of 2020 Dividend and €27.8 of 1Q21 Adjusted Net Income). Including such dividends, CET1 ratio and Total Capital ratio would be 25.9% and 30.3% 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 government9 . This allows BFF to decouple the portfolio's risk-weightings from sovereign ratings and to have a structurally higher ROE. As of
8 1Q21 ratios are calculated with 20% risk-weighting factor (ex art. 116 CRR) applied as of 31-Dec-2020.
9 Under the new rules of"New DoD", as of 31-Dec-2020 BFF's in bonisreceivables 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.

31/03/2021 RWAs were €2.3bn (vs. €1.6bn at YE20 of BFF stand-alone), with a density10 of 41%, vs. 39% at YE20 and 59% as of 31/03/2020.
***
BFF is one of the few Italian public companies, striving for best corporate governance standards, and it is compliant with the Self-Regulation Code. A new Board of Directors has been appointed by the AGM held on 25th March 2021 with a 67% presence of independents, 44% of females, 33% non-Italian, 89% with international experience.
Following the merger of DEPObank into BFF, the exit of BFF Luxembourg S.à r.l. and the reverse ABB done by Scalve S.à.r.l., the free float is currently higher than 85%, with Equinova (main ex-DEPObank's anchor shareholder) holding a 7.6% stake and management a 5.6% stake.
***
10 Calculated as RWAs/Total assets excluding HTC and Cash and Cash Balances.

***
The Financial Reporting Officer, Carlo Zanni, 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 Company.
***
The 1Q 2021 results will be presented today at 15:00 CEST (14:00 WEST) 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 17.3% Group CET1 ratio at the end of March 2021. www.bff.com
Contacts
Investor Relations Caterina Della Mora, Claudia Zolin [email protected] +39 02 49905 631 | +39 02 49905 620 | +39 335 1295 008
Media Relations Alessia Barrera, Gianluca Basciu [email protected] +39 02 49905 616 | +39 02 49905 623 | +39 340 3434 065
Iberia Mariana Sousa +351 210 164 760
Poland and Central Eastern Europe Ewelina Kolad +48 42 272 82 90

| Assets | 31/12/2020 (BFF stand alone reported) |
31/03/2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 173,280,377 | 3,262,740,505 |
| Financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss | 0 | 39,667,831 |
| a) financial assets held for trading | 0 | 5,945,050 |
| b) financial assets designated at fair value | 0 | 0 |
| c) other financial assets mandatorily measured at fair value | 0 | 33,722,781 |
| Financial assets measured at fair value through OCI | 163,924 | 83,344,053 |
| Financial assets measured at amortized cost | 5,780,579,449 | 9,599,053,444 |
| a) Due from banks | 31.078.082 | 1,203,442,164 |
| b) Due from customers | 5,749,501,367 | 8,395,611,280 |
| Hedging instruments | 0 | 0 |
| Equity investments | 87,944 | 10,193,777 |
| Property, plant, and equipment | 18,014,021 | 38,086,426 |
| Intangible assets | 36,675,140 | 137,743,086 |
| - of which:goodwill | 30,874,236 | 111,891,261 |
| Tax assets | 15,333,003 | 90,529,763 |
| a) current | 4,090,128 | 43,752,777 |
| b) deferred | 11,242,874 | 46,776,987 |
| Other assets | 27,179,709 | 246,042,237 |
| Total Assets | 6,051,313,567 | 13,507,401,121 |


| Liabilities and Equity | 31/12/2020 (BFF stand alone reported) |
31/03/2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Financial liabilities measured at amortized cost | 5,415,184,174 | 12,093,046,832 |
| a) deposits from banks | 1,034,654,607 | 1,422,199,789 |
| b) deposits from customers | 3,571,621,161 | 9,915,877,756 |
| c) securities issued | 808,908,406 | 754,969,288 |
| Financial Liabilities Held for Trading | 0 | 1,129,111 |
| Financial liabilities designated at fair value | 0 | 0 |
| Hedging derivatives | 0 | 0 |
| Tax liabilities | 83,697,710 | 108,919,818 |
| a) current | 5,824,367 | 7,398,415 |
| b) deferred | 77,873,344 | 101,521,403 |
| Other liabilities | 82,804,576 | 545,049,053 |
| Employee severance indemnities | 666,641 | 3,804,611 |
| Provisions for risks and charges: | 6,381,691 | 33,397,436 |
| a) guarantees provided and commitments | 527,436 | 406,782 |
| b) pension funds and similar obligations | 4,776,556 | 5,227,118 |
| c) other provisions | 1,077,699 | 27,763,536 |
| Valuation reserves | 1,456,095 | 1,086,498 |
| Reserves | 241,473,311 | 331,709,275 |
| Share premium | 693,106 | 66,277,204 |
| Share capital | 131,400,994 | 142,214,646 |
| Treasury shares | (3,517,312) | (3,491,134) |
| Minority interests | 0 | 0 |
| Profit for the year | 91,072,581 | 184,257,770 |
| Total Liabilities and Equity | 6,051,313,567 | 13,507,401,121 |

| Profit & Loss items | 1Q 2020 (BFF stand alone reported) |
1Q 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Interest and similar income | 57,413,623 | 48,429,560 |
| Interest and similar expenses | (14,124,347) | (9,950,777) |
| Net interest income | 43,289,276 | 38,478,783 |
| Fee and commission income | 1,614,062 | 11,991,774 |
| Fee and commission expenses | (457,674) | (3,137,190) |
| Net fees and commissions | 1,156,388 | 8,854,585 |
| Dividend income and similar revenue | (0) | 3,626,761 |
| Gains (Losses) on trading | 5,894,029 | 2,318,791 |
| Fair value adjustments in hedge accounting | 0 | 0 |
| Gains (Losses) on disposals/repurchases of: | 77,390 | 992,826 |
| a) financial assets measured at amortized cost | 56,001 | 992,826 |
| b) financial assets measured at fair value through OCI | 21,389 | 0 |
| c) financial liabilities | 0 | 0 |
| Net banking income | 50,417,082 | 54,271,745 |
| Impairment losses/reversals on: | (327,843) | (127,488) |
| a) receivables and loans | (331,819) | 19,101 |
| b) available-for-sale financial assets | 3,976 | (146,589) |
| Net profit from banking activities | 50,089,240 | 54,144,257 |
| Net profit from financial and insurance activities | 50,089,240 | 54,144,257 |
| Administrative expenses: | (17,197,900) | (26,180,172) |
| a) personnel costs | (9,838,810) | (13,558,507) |
| b) other administrative expenses | (7,359,090) | (12,621,665) |
| Net provisions for risks and charges: | 248,888 | (318,033) |
| a) guarantees provided and commitments | (171,079) | 120,113 |
| b) pension funds and similar obligations | 419,967 | (438,146) |
| Net adjustments to/writebacks on property, plant, and equipment | (905,133) | (932,761) |
| Net adjustments to/writebacks on intangible assets | (517,853) | (1,379,493) |
| Other operating income/expenses | 1,095,912 | 164,834,582 |
| Operating expenses | (17,276,086) | 136,024,124 |
| Gains (Losses) on equity investments | 0 | 46,198 |
| Profit before tax from continuing operations | 32,813,153 | 190,214,578 |
| Income taxes on profit from continuing operations | (9,688,963) | (5,956,808) |
| Profit after taxes from continuing operations | 23,124,190 | 184,257,770 |
| Profit for the year | 23,124,190 | 184,257,770 |
| Profit for the year attributable to owners of the Parent Company | 23,124,190 | 184,257,770 |

| Values in €m | 31/03/2019 (BFF stand alone and pre "New DoD") |
31/03/2020 (BFF stand alone and pre "New DoD") |
31/12/2020 (BFF stand alone and post "New DoD") |
31/03/2021 (post "New DoD") |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit and Counterparty Risk | 148.7 | 157.1 | 96.6 | 128.3 |
| Market Risk | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Operational Risk | 29.6 | 32.5 | 32.6 | 51.9 |
| Total Capital Requirements | 178.3 | 189.6 | 129.3 | 180.2 |
| Risk Weighted Assets (RWAs) | 2,229.1 | 2,369.8 | 1,615.7 | 2,252.9 |
| CET 1 | 248.5 | 265.3 | 251.1 | 390 |
| Tier I | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Tier II | 98.2 | 98.2 | 98.2 | 98.2 |
| Own Funds | 346.8 | 363.5 | 349.4 | 488.7 |
| CET 1 Capital ratio | 11.1% | 11.2% | 15.5% | 17.3% |
| Tier I Capital ratio | 11.1% | 11.2% | 15.5% | 17.3% |
| Total Capital ratio | 15.6% | 15.3% | 21.6% | 21.7% |

| 31/03/2021 (after 20% RW application) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| € 000 | Gross | Provision | Net |
| Non-performing loans (NPLs) | 91,088 | (16,834) | 74,254 |
| Unlikely to pay | 15,402 | (3,727) | 11,675 |
| Past due | 5,960 | (195) | 5,765 |
| Total impaired assets | 112,451 | (20,757) | 91,694 |
| 31/12/2020 (after 20% RW application) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| € 000 | Gross | Provision | 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 |
| 31/03/2020 (before 20% RW application) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| € 000 | Gross | Provision | Net |
| Non-performing loans (NPLs) | 78,010 | (13,219) | 64,792 |
| Unlikely to pay | 10,718 | (1,925) | 8,793 |
| Past due | 53,600 | (160) | 53,440 |
| Total impaired assets | 142,328 | (15,304) | 127,024 |
| 31/03/2019 (before 20% RW application) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| € 000 | Gross | Provision | Net |
| Non-performing loans (NPLs) | 76,022 | (24,741) | 51,281 |
| Unlikely to pay | 13,083 | (2,687) | 10,396 |
| Past due | 50,949 | (428) | 50,521 |
| Total impaired assets | 140,054 | (27,856) | 112,198 |
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