ProCredit group ends 2025 with strong loan growth and digital retail banking transformation in full momentum; financial results reflect strategic transition

ProCredit group ends 2025 with strong loan growth and digital retail banking transformation in full momentum; financial results reflect strategic transition

• Strong loan growth of 13.1% (adjusted for foreign exchange effects), of which around 80% was driven by higher-yielding, lower-volume client segments
• Group result of EUR 83.5 million, corresponding to 7.8% return on equity (RoE) in line with updated FY 2025 guidance
• Strategy execution advancing at strong pace, with key digital banking initiatives rolled out in 2025 and further launches scheduled for 2026
• 2026 outlook broadly in line with 2025 results
• Medium-term outlook confirmed, with RoE of around 13-14%
• Management intends to propose dividend of EUR 0.47 per share for FY 2025 to the Annual General Meeting on 3 June 2026

Frankfurt am Main, 19 March 2026 – The German impact banking group ProCredit, which focuses on South Eastern and Eastern Europe, reported strong progress in executing its growth and transformation strategy in the financial year 2025. The group achieved well-diversified business expansion, with the loan portfolio increasing by 13.1%, adjusted for foreign exchange effects. Customer deposits also showed strong growth of 13.1%, adjusted for foreign exchange effects, primarily driven by balances from sight and savings accounts, in line with strategic priorities. The year-end result of EUR 83.5 million corresponded to a RoE of 7.8%. On this basis, Management intends to propose a dividend of EUR 0.47 per share to the Annual General Meeting on 3 June 2026. For the financial year 2026, the group aims to continue its ambitious growth trajectory with a focus on executing its digital retail banking strategy. RoE is expected at around 7%. Income is expected to grow visibly from a gradual and structural improvement of the net interest margin. The group will maintain a strategic focus on continued investments in digitalisation and on capital optimisation initiatives, aimed at strengthening its long-term growth profile. While these investments are weighing on RoE in the short-term, they are considered essential to support sustainable growth and value creation. In light of the group’s operational performance and strategic progress, Management reiterates its commitment to unlocking value through greater scale and improved operating efficiency, while maintaining its medium-term RoE outlook of around 13-14%.

Strong and well-diversified business growth

The group’s loan portfolio expanded significantly in 2025, increasing by EUR 742 million (FY 2024: EUR 784 million). Excluding the impact of local currency movements, loan growth amounted to EUR 913 million, reflecting broad-based expansion across client segments and in most markets. Lending to micro and small enterprises as well as to retail clients continued to develop particularly dynamically, accounting for around 80% of new loan volumes.

Customer deposits grew by around EUR 845 million over the year (FY 2024: EUR 1.0 billion). Adjusted for currency effects, deposit growth exceeded EUR 1.1 billion, with retail clients accounting for the largest share of inflows. More than 60% of new deposits came in the form of sight and savings deposits (FY 2024: around 30%), marking a significant shift compared to 2024 and demonstrating progress in the rollout of the key initiatives of the retail banking strategy.

Over time, accelerated growth in the targeted lower-volume client segments is expected to strengthen margins from both sides of the balance sheet.

Digital and technology transformation advancing at strong pace

The retail banking transformation is centered on a mobile‑first banking model as the primary customer interface and enabling fully digital customer journeys across onboarding, lending and everyday payments. In 2025, the new mobile banking app was launched in four countries and is expected to be fully rolled out by the end of 2026, providing a scalable and modern foundation for the group’s retail banking franchise.

Alongside the mobile-first platform, the group has introduced end-to-end digital retail customer onboarding journeys, initiated the rollout of automated loan origination solutions, and strengthened its value proposition for cards and payments. The broader digital and technology transformation also includes further digitalisation of the MSME operating model, modernisation of the group’s core banking and IT architecture, and continued investments in digital talent, skills, and organisational capabilities to support execution and long-term operational scalability.

Commenting on the progress, Eriola Bibolli, the newly appointed Chair of the Management Board of ProCredit Holding AG, said: “Execution of our retail and digital strategy remains a top priority. Deploying a mobile-first retail banking model is a central element of this transformation.  By enabling fully digital customer journeys – from onboarding to lending and everyday payments – we are building a modern banking platform that combines technological progress with our responsible banking model. The execution of our digital retail banking strategy is decisive as it positions retail banking as a meaningful business segment and helps unlock value by realizing our full potential in MSME banking – both through providing a granular deposit base and enhanced digital capabilities.”

Positive operating income trends with elevated cost-income ratio amid broadscale digitalisation initiatives

Net interest income amounted to EUR 353.0 million in 2025, corresponding to a net interest margin of around 3.2% (FY 2024: EUR 358.2 million and 3.5%). On a quarterly basis, net interest income showed a consistently positive trajectory throughout the year, supported by strong loan growth and stabilising margins, despite persistently elevated funding costs linked to local deposit market rates.

Net fee and commission income continued its positive trend, rising by EUR 5.1 million, or 5.5% year-on-year, to EUR 96.6 million (FY 2024: EUR 91.6 million). Growth was primarily driven by higher transactional banking revenue and continued strength in foreign exchange business. Net other operating income amounted to EUR -10.4 million (FY 2024: EUR -5.5 million), reflecting the absence of positive non-recurring effects recorded in the previous year.

Personnel and administrative expenses amounted to EUR 322.4 million (FY 2024: EUR 302.8 million), representing an increase of 6.5%. This increase was mainly related to expanded staff capacity during 2024, as well as ongoing digitalisation investments. Against this background and the continued impact of elevated market rates on deposits, the cost-income ratio stood at 73.4% (2024: 68.1%).

The quality of the loan portfolio remained strong, with the share of defaulted loans at 3.0% (YE 2024: 2.3%). The increase compared to 2024 was primarily due to stage transfer of project finance exposures (non-core business) in Q4. For the full year, the loss allowance amounted to EUR 11.2 million, corresponding to a cost of risk of about 15 basis points (FY 2024: EUR -5.2 million or -8 basis points).

Ambitious growth outlook for 2026, bottom line reflecting strategic digital transition and capital optimisation effects

In 2026, Management expects strong growth of the loan portfolio at 12-15% (for continued operations, assuming no significant foreign exchange volatility). Income is expected to grow resulting from the group’s growth and balance sheet transformation strategy. It remains strategically important for the group to continue the rollout of digitalisation initiatives and to implement capital optimisation measures during 2026. These steps are essential to unlock greater scalability, support further growth and strengthen the group’s income-generating capacity. While this may result in the cost-income ratio temporarily remaining around the level of the previous year (FY 2025 at 73.4%), and group RoE at around 7%, these measures are expected to support stronger and more sustainable performance over the medium term. Other extraordinary developments affecting RoE in 2026 include a planned divestiture of ProCredit Bank Ecuador during the year, lower net fee income related to the euro introduction in ProCredit Bank Bulgaria and temporarily increased tax expenses in Ukraine and Romania. Management currently sees limited direct exposure affecting its operations or MSME client base from an escalating conflict in the Middle East and continues to closely monitor the ongoing geopolitical developments and potential second-order effects including energy price volatility and broader macroeconomic impacts. The CET1 capital ratio is expected to remain at a comfortable level of around 13% at year-end 2026.

“While our 2025 financial performance reflects the continued execution of our growth and transformation strategy, we are encouraged by the strong business growth and the momentum of our digital banking initiatives rollout, which we expect to translate into increasing profitability over time. Our digital and technology transformation is designed to further strengthen our position as a leading bank for MSMEs and is central to our ambition to become a convenient and trusted mobile-first retail bank for everyday banking across our markets. Our medium-term ambitions therefore remain unchanged, and we are confident that the group is well on track to realise this potential by the financial year 2029. We are carrying out this strategy execution with discipline and purpose, and we remain firmly committed to delivering sustainable value for our shareholders”, said Eriola Bibolli.

Considering the good progress achieved in key strategic areas and the strong growth dynamics in line with the group’s scaling strategy, Management confirms the medium-term outlook of a return on equity of around 13-14% and a cost-income ratio of around 57%. Positive economic impulses from the potential reconstruction of Ukraine supported by the Western community could provide additional upside potential of around 1.5 percentage points to this RoE outlook.

Management intends to propose dividend of EUR 0.47 per share

As of 31 December 2025, the group’s CET1 capital ratio stood at 13.1% (YE 2024: 13.1%), underscoring the solid capital position, despite continued strong balance sheet expansion.

The Management intends to propose a dividend of EUR 0.47 per share to the Annual General Meeting on 3 June 2026, which corresponds to a payout of 1/3 of the FY 2025 consolidated result, in line with the group’s dividend policy.

The ProCredit group’s 2025 annual report is available in the Investor Relation’s section of the ProCredit Holding website at https://www.procredit-holding.com/investor-relations/reports-and-publications/financial-reports/. The financial calendar can be found under https://www.procredit-holding.com/investor-relations/financial-calendar/.

FY 2025 results at a glance

* Previous year figures have been adapted to the current disclosure structure.

Contact:

Petra Vielhaber, Group Communications and Marketing, ProCredit Holding, tel.: +49 69 95 14 37 249, mobile: +49 171 686 5932, e-mail: Petra.Vielhaber@procredit-group.com

About ProCredit Holding AG

ProCredit Holding AG, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the parent company of the development-oriented ProCredit group, which consists of commercial banks for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as private individuals, fostering economic, ecological and social development. In addition to its operational focus on South Eastern and Eastern Europe, the ProCredit group is also active in South America and Germany. The company’s shares are traded on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The main shareholders of ProCredit Holding AG include Zeitinger Invest GmbH, KfW, the Dutch DOEN Participaties BV, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and ProCredit Staff Invest GmbH & Co. KG. As the group’s superordinated company according to the German Banking Act and as the parent financial holding company of the ProCredit financial holding group, ProCredit Holding AG is supervised on a consolidated level by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, BaFin) and the German Bundesbank. For additional information, visit: https://www.procredit-holding.com/

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains statements relating to future business development and/or future financial performance and/or future actions and/or developments affecting ProCredit Holding (forward-looking statements). Such forward-looking statements are based on the Management of ProCredit Holding’s current expectations and specific assumptions, which are partly beyond the control of ProCredit Holding. The forward-looking statements are therefore subject to a multitude of uncertainties. Should one or more of these uncertainties materialise, or should underlying expectations or assumptions prove inapplicable, then the actual conditions (both negative and positive) may differ significantly from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statement. Beyond mandatory legal requirements, ProCredit Holding does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to correct them.