CIB Group has revealed that it lost HUF 33.8bn during the first six months of 2014. While still a poor showing, it marked an improvement over the HUF 55.7bn loss it recorded in the first half of 2013. Speaking with Reuters, Carlo Messina, CEO of the bank’s mother company Intesa Sanpaolo, said the loss was due largely to the bank placing HUF 20bn in reserves in order to cover the cost of bailing out its clients who borrowed in foreign currencies. He insisted, however, that his bank’s Hungarian operations to be strategic and that the intention was to remain active in the country. The bank has reduced the size of its work force by nearly 800 people since 2009 and currently employs 2,482.
