November 3 (SeeNews) - Erste Bank said on Friday the operating profit of its Croatian unit fell 5.0% year-on-year to 157.7 million euro ($183.7 million) in the first nine months of 2017, reflecting lower foreign exchange and securities trading.
The Croatian unit's net interest income rose 0.8% to 200.8 million euro in January to September, due to exchange rate movements, while net fee and commission income increased 8.2% to 72.1 million euro, the bank said in a statement.
The net impairment loss on financial assets of Erste Bank in Croatia expanded to 91.9 million euro in the first nine months of 2017 from 28.6 million euro in the like period of last year, chiefly due to the downgrading of one of the lender's corporate customers.
Operating expenses increased by 5.3% to 152.4 million euro as a result of higher personnel costs and IT costs.
Erste Bank is present in Croatia through its subsidiary Erste Bank Croatia Group, which had 3,126 employees at the end of September.
Elsewhere in Southeastern Europe (SEE), Erste Bank operates subsidiaries in Serbia and Romania.
($=0.8582 euro)