Italy's largest bank Unicredit saw
its profits jump by a whopping 58.8% in first quarter of this
year, or 712 million euros, compared with the same period in
2013, the bank reported Monday.
That beat analysts' forecasts for the bank to report a gain
of about 550 million euros, and was well above the first-quarter
earnings last year of about 449 million euros.
The bank attributed the improved profit to its efforts to
lower costs and reduce risky assets, including impaired loans.
Unicredit has been working to improve its balance sheet
ahead of a major review by the European Central Bank of lenders
across the continent.
The bank also reported a rise in new loans to business and
families worth about 2.7 billion euros in the first three months
of this year.
That marked a 14.3% increase compared with the final
quarter of last year, and a 63.2% jump compared with the same
period in 2013.
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