Profits fall at Alpha and NBG on NPL reduction

Greek lenders Alpha Bank and National Bank reported a sharp fall in profit in the last quarter of 2018 as they focused on reducing their piles of bad loans.
Alpha, Greece's fourth-largest lender by assets, reported a net loss from continuing operations of 0.4 million euros in the October to December period after a net profit of 41.1 million euros in the third quarter.
The lender, which is 11 percent owned by the country's bank rescue fund HFSF, attributed the loss to weaker trading gains and higher credit-loss provisions.
Net profit from continued operations at National Bank (NBG), the country's second largest lender, shrank to 1 million euros from 8 million in the third quarter as trading losses weighed on its bottom line.
Greek banks are working to reduce their bad debts and meet targets on so-called nonperforming exposures (NPEs) agreed with European Central...

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