GDANSK (Reuters) - Poland's BNP Paribas BP posted a bigger than expected 36% jump in second-quarter net profit on Tuesday, supported by a one-off positive impact from deferred tax, and lower legal provisions related to Swiss franc mortgages.

BY THE NUMBERS

Net profit at Polish unit of BNP Paribas totalled 623 million zlotys ($158.4 million) with steady net interest income of 1.22 billion zlotys. Net fee and commission earnings fell 7% on the year to stand at more than 287 million zlotys.

Legal provisions for Swiss franc denominated mortgages almost halved to about 190 million zlotys.

The gross loan book was 88.58 billion zlotys, down 1.4% year-on-year.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Rulings in favour of those who took out mortgages denominated in Swiss francs have cost Poland's banks more than 80 billion zlotys since 2021, exceeding the sector's net profit over the same period by more than 25 billion zlotys.

Courts are still handling tens of thousands of Swiss franc loan cases with the government working on a standardised settlement format.

Polish Bank Association data shows that without resolution the issue could persist in dampening the sector's profit for another 12 to 15 years.

CONTEXT

A strengthening Swiss franc and higher interest rates led to unexpectedly high repayments for hundreds of thousands of Poles who had taken Swiss franc mortgages at a time of low interest rates in the 2000s and early 2010s.

Many of these borrowers, backed by the Poland's anti-monopoly office and later EU courts, initiated legal actions against the banks.

($1 = 3.9332 zlotys)

(Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)