ZAGREBACKA BANK GROUP MAKES 773 MILLION KUNA IN PROFIT IN 2002

ZAGREB, March 11 (Hina) - The net profit of the Zagrebacka Bank Group climbed by 62.7 percent to 773 million kuna last year, while the net profit of Zagrebacka Bank alone rose by 53 percent to 592 million kuna, this bank group reported on Tuesday. #L# The total assets of the Zagrebacka Bank Group came to almost 53.7 billion kuna at the end of 2002, 12.4 percent up from the end of 2001. This bank group holds 30.2 percent of the Croatian market, and 21.33 percent of the bank market in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The group consists of the Zagrebacka, Varazdinska and Zagrebacka BH Mostar banks, "Prva Stambena Stedionica", (the First Building Society"), a company for the management of investment funds -- ZB Invest, the brokerage house "ZB Brokeri", the real estate agency "ZANE", and "Istraturist". Last year the ZABA Group increased the amount of loans granted to citizens by 43.3 percent, totalling 23.78 billion kuna. Zagrebacka Bank alone granted loans worth 19.96 billion kuna to clients last year, 38.8 percent up from the end of 2001. The deposits of the entire group rose by 7.2 percent to 40 billion kuna. The group's income climbed by 15.9 percent to nearly 3.1 billion kuna, with the net profit from interest rate accounting for 1.53 billion. Zagrebacka Bank's earnings rose by 14.5 percent to 2.2 billion kuna. (1EUR = 7.6 kuna) (hina) ms sb