November 30 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's largest lender, state-owned Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), said its consolidated net profit soared 101% on the year to 184 million euro ($217.9 million) in the first nine months of 2017.
Net interest income totalled 228.7 million euro, a drop of 4% year on year, while net fee and commission income totaled 115.2 million euro, up 7% on the year, NLB said in a filing with the Ljubljana bourse late on Wednesday.
"This year’s exceptionally good business results are facilitated more and more, close to a half by now, by the core markets outside Slovenia, where the Group can make up for the tough and highly competitive conditions in Slovenia and a much lower margin the parent bank is able to make in its local market", Primoz Karpe, the chairman of NLB supervisory board, said.
He added that that the retail segment in Slovenia as well as in SEE markets tends to increasingly contribute to the final outcome lately, which means that the bank is additionally spreading its risks and further improving the structure of its portfolios.
The share of non-performing loans in all NLB loans dropped to 11.9% from 13.8% on December 31, 2016, while the share of non-performing exposures (internationally recognised NPE ratio) fell to 8.3%.
The bank's assets totalled 12.01 billion euro at end-September, down from 12.04 billion euro at the end of 2016.
NLB was one of two Slovenian banks - alongside NKBM, to show a minor capital shortfall in the adverse scenario of the stress test conducted by the European Central Bank in October 2015.
In December 2013, the Slovenian government had to step in and recapitalize the country's three biggest lenders - NLB, NKBM and Abanka, narrowly avoiding an international bailout.
($=0.844414 euro)