Greece’s fourth largest lender, Alpha Bank, has reported a third-quarter net loss totalling €156.9 million compared with a net profit of €361.4 million in the second quarter. The bank admitted its voluntary retirement scheme had hurt its profits but otherwise showed an improvement in core operating trends and declining provisions for bad loans.
Earlier this year the bank launched an early retirement scheme which was aimed at reducing its staff head count in Greece by a fifth. The bank hopes that it will save €120 million in savings over the scheme’s 18 months.
Alpha Bank has ferried the country’s economic crisis better than its counterparts and was the only Greek lender that fully passed the European Central Bank’s recent stress tests.
Source: Wall Street Journal
