Piraeus Bank's profit down in Romania while non-performing loans grow

Greek lender Piraeus Bank's assets in Romania fell by 9.4 percent in first nine months of 2011, from EUR 3.94 billion to 3.57 EUR billion, according to Mediafax newswire. Compared to September of last year, the assets of the Greek bank declined by 9 percent. The balance of the bank’s loans in Romania dropped by 4.4 percent, from EUR 3.2 billion in December to EUR 3.06 billion, while the bank’s deposits fell by 8.6 percent, from EUR 1.16 billion last year to EUR 1.06 billion. Piraeus Bank's profit before provisions decreased by 18.4 percent in first nine months of this year, from EUR 147 million in January-September of last year to EUR 120 million this year. Non-performing loans reached 16.5 percent of the bank's portfolio in September, from 10.8 percent in December last year. Piraeus Bank had EUR 63 million of new non-performing loans in the third quarter of this year. At a group level, Piraeus reported a loss of EUR 287 million, after a profit of EUR 67 million in first nine months of last year. Alex Camburu, alex.camburu@romania-insider.com