Dutch bank ING has posted a rise in loan loss provisions for the fourth quarter, but profit increased.
The shipping lender said additions to provisions were EUR 242m ($276m) to 31 December, up from EUR 190m in 2017.
For the full year, the total was down to EUR 656m against EUR 676m.
The figures include write-offs and recoveries on loans and receivables.
Fourth quarter risk costs were mainly attributable to a few larger clients in the Americas and Italy, it said.
These costs were 31 basis points (bps) of average risk-weighted assets (RWA), versus 25 bps a year ago.
"Although higher than in the previous quarters, risk costs remained well below ING’s through-the-cycle average of 40-45 basis points," it said.
"Overall, the macroeconomic outlook has deteriorated somewhat but it remained robust in both Europe and the US."
Net profit was up at EUR 1.27bn from EUR 1.01bn in 2017. Total underlying income reached EUR 4.5bn from EUR 4.36bn.
