Piraeus Bank swings to losses in Q3

Piraeus Bank turned loss-making in July-to-September, as higher provisions for impaired loans compared to the previous quarter offset an increase in net interest and commission income, Greece’s largest lender by assets said on Tuesday.

Piraeus, which is 26.2 percent owned by the country’s bank rescue fund HFSF, reported a net loss from continued operations of 19 million euros after a net profit of 7 million euros in the second quarter.

The group, with a current market value of 878 million euros, said bad debt provisions rose 20 percent quarter-on-quarter to 312 million euros.

Nonperforming loans eased to 36.2 percent of its book at the end of September from 37.1 percent in the previous quarter.

[Reuters]