Alpha makes 10m-euro gross profit in Q3, up 23%

Greek group Alpha Bank, which controls one of the top ten local banks by assets, reported a 10.2 million-euro gross profit in the third quarter from operations carried out in Romania, up 23% against the similar period of 2009.
The cumulated gross profit recorded in the first nine months amounted to 33.9 million euros, down 21% on January-September 2009, according to data published by the Athens-based group. The nine-month profit was affected by the accelerated rise of provision costs in the first part of the year, which could not be offset by the revenue increase and by the decline in operating costs.
The bank allocated provisions to cover losses generated by non-performing loans worth 71.7 million euros between January and September, up 54% against the similar period of last year. However, the pressure of provisions lessened in the third quarter, when their value rose by 5%, to 24.7 million euros. Alpha Bank had a loan portfolio worth 3.75 billion euros at the end of September, down 12.5% against September 2009.