Cyprus's Hellenic Bank posts 118.6 mln 2014 loss, provisions up

Hellenic Bank Pcl

27/02/2015 10:52

NICOSIA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Cyprus's Hellenic Bank  HBNK.CY  
posted a net loss of 118.6 million euros ($133 million) in 2014, 
the lender said on Friday, saying it had raised its provisions 
by 47.5 percent. 
    The bank, which had recorded a 190.9 million euro loss in 
2013, said its operating profit before provisions amounted to 
157.8 million euros last year, up 22 percent. It made a net 
profit in the fourth quarter, it said. 
    Cypriot banks are struggling with a surge in non-performing 
loans, partly because of a change in definition introduced by 
the island's central bank in 2013, and a recession which has 
pushed unemployment to above 15 percent. 
($1 = 0.8904 euros) 
 
 (Reporting by Michele Kambas; Editing by David Holmes) 
 ((michele.kambas@thomsonreuters.com;)) 
 
Keywords: HELLENIC BANK RESULTS/