Alpha Bank Switches To 1Q EUR5.7M Loss In Romania

05.24.2011 By Florentina Dragu

Greece’s Alpha Bank Tuesday said it has switched to pretax losses of EUR5.7 million in the first quarter, from pretax profit of EUR8.1 million in the year-earlier period, due to higher provisions.

Alpha Bank said total provisions in Romania rose 6.6% on the year to EUR26 million.

The lender reported operating profit of EUR43.6 million on the local market in the first quarter, down 22% on the year.

Operating expenses inched up 0.3% on the year to EUR23.3 million.

Alpha Bank's loan in Romania stood at EUR3.56 billion end March, down from EUR3.66 billion in December last year. Overall deposits fell 8.4% to EUR1.5 billion.

Alpha Bank operates 166 branches and employs 2,428 staff in Romania.

Worldwide, Alpha Bank reported net profit of EUR10.5 million, versus loss of EUR10.4 million in the first quarter of 2010.