Eurobank profitable for third quarter in a row
Eurobank was profitable for a third straight quarter in July-September as lower provisions for bad debt helped to boost earnings 85 percent from the previous quarter.
Greece’s third-largest lender by assets, in which the country’s bank rescue fund owns a 2.4 percent stake after a recapitalization last year, reported net earnings of 85 million euros, up from 46 million in the second quarter.
“Active management of the nonperforming [loan] stock remains top priority for the next quarters,” Eurobank CEO Fokion Karavias said in a statement.
“The plan for decreasing nonperforming exposures, submitted to the [European Central Bank’s] Single Supervisory Mechanism in September, is under way,” he said.
Eurobank reduced its credit-loss provisions by 14.1 percent to 191 million euros in the third quarter from 222 million in the second.
Nonperforming credit (loans more than 90 days past their due date) rose slightly to 34.8 percent of its loan book from 34.7 percent at the end of June.
The group, with subsidiaries in the Balkans, said international operations remained profitable, contributing 25 million euros to group profit.
Funding from the ECB and the Bank of Greece decreased by 6 billion euros from June to mid-November, dropping to 15.5 billion euros.
[Reuters]
