Piraeus Bank posts major growth in net earnings

Piraeus Bank on Thursday reported a sixfold jump in first-quarter net earnings from last year’s fourth quarter, boosted by strong trading income.

Greece’s fourth-largest lender by market value reported net profit from continued operations of 521 million euros after a profit of €78 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The bank had lost €404 million in the first quarter of 2021.

Trading income was boosted by one-off gains booked in its sovereign bond portfolio and other transactions, Piraeus Bank said.

Net interest income fell 10% quarter-on-quarter to €286 million, affected by the bank’s accelerated balance sheet bad loan cleanup.

Excluding forgone income from so-called nonperforming exposures (NPEs), net interest income reached €246 million in the first quarter and was up 11% year-on-year, the bank said, supported by an expansion of its performing loan book.

Chief Executive Christos Megalou said he was confident about meeting business plan targets. [Reuters]