Sampo's profits, assets up

Estonia's Sampo Pank Group posted a net profit of 52.9 million kroons (3.4 million euros) in 2002, a 29.3 percent increase compared with 2001.

The bank's total assets increased by 6.7 percent, or 363.8 million kroons, in 2002 and stood at 5.8 billion kroons at the end of December, the bank reported. The main sources for the asset growth were an increase in clients' deposits.

Sampo Bank Board Chairman Harmo Vark said that the profit had been expected considering that Sampo made considerable investments in increasing its client base last year.

"For example the number of Sampo Bank's clients increased by 120 percent during the year, and we won 14.5 percent in the funded pension market, which we regard as strategically very important for us," Vark said.

Sampo Bank reported that both the size and quality of its loan portfolio continued to grow in 2002. The gross loan portfolio increased during the year by 17 percent to 3.8 billion kroons.

The total sum of the group's deposits by the end of 2002 was 32.5 billion kroons, 61.3 percent of the group's liabilities.

AS Sampo Pank is fully owned by Finland's financial group Sampo Plc.