Banco Popolare reports net profit

(ANSA) - Milan, February 9 - Banco Popolare bank closed out the 2015 financial year with net profits of 430 million euros and proposed dividends of 15 eurocents a share, the Verona-based bank said Tuesday. The lender also reported it cut its non-performing loans by 200 million euros in the past year, to 14.1 billion euros.
    Banco Popolare shares closed -8% in today's trading. The cooperative bank is reportedly in talks with Banco Popolare di Milano (BPM) for a possible merger that would create Italy's third-largest lender after Intesa and UniCredit, worth 172 billion euros and with 2,484 branches.