Focus on clients: New products and services

MeDirect’s investment in technology is producing tangible results for the bank and its customers with a range of new products launched during the first half of 2023:

• MeDirect launched MeManaged in Belgium, an online discretionary portfolio management service, provided by MeDirect, using fund products managed by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.
• MeDirect launched its MeMax instant savings account in Malta, offering attractive interest rates, paid monthly.
• In May, MeDirect began to offer in Malta a Property Investment Loan product for clients who want to add property to their investment portfolio.
• In June, MeDirect launched its debit card service, enabling customers to use their MeDirect accounts for their daily banking needs.
• MeDirect technology has resulted in a more streamlined mortgage application process. As a result, MeDirect is offering €1,000 to customers who apply or a home loan and do not receive a decision within 15 days.
• MeDirect continues to improve its payment hub platform, facilitating faster and easier payments.

Growing the MeDirect customer franchise

• In mid-May, MeDirect successfully launched its wealth platform in the Netherlands, targeting customers in the Dutch market who are currently underserved by traditional banks and asset managers.
• MeDirect’s retail franchise grew by 8% over the past year to more than 114,000 retail clients. 41,000 are wealth clients, an increase of 12%. Total client financial assets increased by 4.5%, reaching €4.5 billion.
• This geographic expansion of MeDirect’s retail franchise demonstrates its ongoing commitment to building a scalable pan-European digital wealth and banking solutions platform.

Focus on specialised lending solutions

Over the past year, MeDirect has continued to de-risk and diversify its balance sheet, reducing its on-balance sheet exposure to international corporate loans to less than 10% of total assets. MeDirect also enhanced its mortgage products in Malta, Belgium and the Netherlands.

• MeDirect grew its specialised lending platform, focusing on mortgages in Belgium, the Netherlands and Malta.
  • Over the past twelve months, MeDirect’s total mortgage portfolios grew from €1.7 billion to €2.2 billion, an increase of more than 30%.
    • MeDirect’s Dutch-government guaranteed NHG mortgage product, in partnership with HollandWoont, grew by 13% to more than €1.9 billion or 34% of the Group’s total balance sheet.
    • In the Netherlands, MeDirect’s buy-to-let mortgage platform, established in partnership with Build Finance reached €41 million at 30 June 2023.
• MeDirect’s MeHomeLoans Belgian product, launched in partnership with Allianz in October 2021, is a core part of its specialised lending business, totalling over €228 million as at 30 June 2023.
• MeDirect’s Maltese mortgage portfolio reached €86 million by end June 2023 and now features a Property Investment Loan product to facilitate investment in the Maltese property market.
• MeDirect continues to build its Maltese corporate lending business through its portfolio of carefully selected loans with attractive yields that are collateralised by real property assets and other collateral.
• The Group continues to de-risk its international corporate lending portfolio, which has been reduced from €593 million as at 30 June 2022 to €446 million as at 30 June 2023, a decrease of 25%.

Delivering sustainable profitability

• Profit after tax for the six months ended 30 June 2023 amounted to €10.1 million, compared to €0.5 million for the six months to 30 June 2022. Operating income grew by 29% year over year whilst improved market conditions led to a €5.5 million net release of loan impairment charges.
• Net interest income increased by 36% compared with the same period last year, from €28.7 million in 2022 to €39.1 million in 2023.
• The Group’s Non-Performing Loan ratio declined to 2.0% from 4.6% as at 30 June 2022.
• The Group’s capital and liquidity positions remained strong. At 30 June 2023, taking into consideration the interim profits:
  • MeDirect’s Tier 1 capital ratio stood at 16.2%, with a total capital ratio of 19.8%, both well above regulatory requirements; and
  • The Group’s Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) stood at 215% and its Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) at 116%, both well above the minimum requirements.
• MeDirect continued its balance sheet de-risking strategy by increasing its aggregate mortgage portfolio by 30% to €2.2 billion.

These improved financial results demonstrate the success of MeDirect’s ambitious model transformation since 2019. This was executed in spite of volatile macroeconomic conditions resulting from the Covid pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and severe supply chain disruption.  MeDirect believes that it is well positioned for continued sustainable profitability into the future.

Focus on ESG

• MeDirect continued integrating environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) principles into its policies and day-to-day operations.
• This was validated by the improvement of its EcoVadis overall sustainability rating score by 11%, placing MeDirect in the top 7% of all companies rated. MeDirect Malta was again awarded the Equality Mark certification by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE). In Belgium, MeDirect was rated the third best bank, according to a global survey by Forbes.

Outlook

Arnaud Denis, MeDirect’s CEO, emphasised that “MeDirect’s success in executing its ambitious model transformation is reflected in improved financial results as well as continued development of its products, franchise and geographic footprint.  This was made possible by careful balance sheet management combined with continuous investment in technology and talent. We look forward to further scale up our platform and deliver sustainable profitability.”

MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc, company registration number C34125, is licensed to undertake the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371) and investment services under the Investment Services Act (Cap. 370). MeDirect Bank (Malta) plc is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority as a Credit Institution under the Banking Act 1994.