HCFB quadruples Russian credit card loans in 2006

...in 2006, the bank said in its annual results on Wednesday.

HCFB, which entered the Russian market in 2002, reported a 127 percent rise in net profit to 699 million roubles ($26.65 million), driven by a 44 percent increase in net interest income to 8.1 billion roubles.

But the overall volume of loans granted grew by 17.1 percent to 56.1 billion roubles, HCFB, a member of the Czech Home Credit Group, said in a statement.

New lending by HCFB in 2006 lagged growth in the overall Russian market, which is in the midst of a boom in consumer credit. Analysts and bankers say HCFB has reined in new lending to maintain the quality of its loan book.

But growth in HCFB's credit-card lending stood out, rising 316 percent year-on-year to 11.7 billion roubles at the year end. At the end of 2006 the bank had more than 4.6 million credit card customers.