Greece’s NBG reports H1 loss on bond swap

National Bank of Greece made a first-half net loss of 1.31 bln euros after taking provisions for a government debt swap.
The group said the impact of its participation in a voluntary swap of Greek government bonds (PSI), aimed at relieving the country's debt burden, would be 1.645 bln euros.
Excluding this provision, net first-half earnings would have reached 29 mln euros, down 80% year-on-year. Results were well below market expectations as analysts polled by Reuters were forecasting on average pre-PSI net profit of 126.3 mln euros.
"NBG will continue its policy of further enhancing its capital base through efficient asset and liability management and maintaining satisfactory liquidity," CEO Apostolos Tamvakakis said in a statement.
He said NBG would decide on its next strategic moves once more clarity was attained on the outcome of the debt exchange plan and a diagnostic test of Greek bank loan portfolios by BlackRock Solutions, commissioned by the central bank.
NBG tried to take over peer Alpha Bank earlier in the year, but its offer was turned down. Alpha on Monday decided to merge with EFG Eurobank via a share swap to form the largest lender in southeast Europe.
NBG said Turkish subsidiary Finansbank contributed 235 mln euros in net profit in the first half, helping to offset adverse conditions in the group's home market.
Provisions for impaired credit rose 27% year-on-year to 822 mln euros.