Greece’s National Bank Q1 net profit rises 25 pct

Greece's largest lender National Bank reported first-quarter net profit grew 25 percent to 423 million euros ($666 million), excluding a one-off tax settlement, helped by growth in its core banking business in all its regions.
Net of the 22 million euro one-off settlement in Turkey, results were in line with forecasts. Analysts' average estimate for net profit was 393.5 million euros, with estimates ranging from 382 million to 415 million.

The bank reported "solid growth" in its core banking business in all regions. NBG is present in Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Albania and Turkey. It said Turkish unit Finansbank contributed 30 percent to group earnings. Net attributable profit, before the one-off tax payment, was up 40 percent to 129 million euros.
NBG's franchise in southeast Europe grew profit by 72 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, making up 12 percent of group profit.
National Bank's net interest income rose 21 percent to 855 million euros.

Despite intensifying competition in the deposits market and the rise in funding costs, the bank said net its interest margin improved to 4.31 percent from 4.19 percent in the same period a year earlier.