Both National Bank (NBG) and Alpha Bank, the second and fourth largest lenders in the country based on assets, reported a second straight profitable quarter in Q4 2016.
NBG reported net profits of 73 million euros, significantly up from net earnings of 6 million euros in Q3 2016.
Lower bad debt provisions helped boost NBG’s profits.
Overall, Greece’s oldest credit institution said net profits reached 53 million euros on the year, overturning a 2.49-billion-euro loss in 2015.
Meanwhile, Αlpha reported net profits of 20.1 million euros in the fourth quarter, a result that was down from 41.2 million euros in the third quarter.
Overall in 2016, the bank returned to profitability, posting net profits of 42.3 million euros after losses of 1.37 billion euros in 2015.
Provisions for bad debt rose 18 percent quarter-on-quarter to 304 million euros from 258 million in the third quarter.
