Alpha profit tumbles in Q2 while National posts net loss

National Bank, Greece’s second-biggest lender by assets, swung to losses in the second half of the year, while Alpha, Greece’s fourth-largest, reported sharply lower profit in April-to-June after taking a loss on the sale of its Serbian subsidiary, despite lower provisions for impaired loans.

National turned loss-making in April-to-June as trading losses offset a decline in bad debt provisions. NBG, 40 percent owned by the country’s bank rescue fund HFSF, on Thursday reported a net loss from continued operations of 52 million euros versus a net loss of 8.0 million euros in the first quarter. NBG said loan impairments fell 14 percent to 200 million euros while its stock of nonperforming exposures (NPEs) shrank by 300 million euros quarter-on-quarter.

Its NPE ratio settled at 45 percent. Alpha, 11 percent owned by HFSF, reported net profit of 1.4 million euros, down from 48.1 million in Q1 and broadly in line with market expectations.

The bank’s nonperforming loans ratio dropped to 37.6 percent of its book from 38.1 percent at the end of March. Provisions for bad debt fell 12.2 percent quarter-on-quarter to 216.6 million euros from 247 million in the first quarter. [Reuters]