Geniki loss in year to September exceeds 300 mln
Athens-listed Geniki Bank saw its nine-month losses exceed 300 million euros due to an increase in bad loans, the French-owned Greek lender announced yesterday. A subsidiary of Societe Generale since 2004, Geniki reported net three-quarter losses of 304.1 million euros, a sharp increase over the same period last year, when net losses amounted to just 51.4 million euros. This was the result of bad-loan provisions, which jumped from 77.6 million euros in the first three quarters of 2009 to 312.7 million euros this year to end-September. ‘The overall economic environment deterioration in the first nine months of 2010 had a negative effect on the quality of our loan portfolio and the perspective of recovery,’ the bank stated. It added that its restructuring, with a rights issue to the amount of 339.7 million euros that is set to boost its equity capital, is expected to be completed next month.
