Greece's Piraeus Bank Posts Loss as Provisions Rise

Wall Street Journal
March 23, 2011

Piraeus Bank SA, Greece's fourth-largest lender by assets, Thursday said it swung to a net loss in 2010 on sharply higher provisions for bad loans and a poor performance by its trading division.

The bank reported a net loss of €20 million ($28.2 million), down from a net profit of €201 million a year earlier but largely in line with analysts' expectations of a €27 million loss.

The rise in provisions matched the trend in the Greek banking system, which has seen a sharp rise in non-performing loans as the country slogs through a third year of a grinding recession, with the economy contracting 4.5% last year alone.

Piraeus set aside €601 million for bad loans in 2010, up from €491 million a year earlier. The bank's trading division reported no profits, compared to a €177 million profit a year earlier. These more than offset positive growth in net-interest income for the year, which rose to €1.21 billion from €1.11 billion in 2009.

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