Greek shipping lender Piraeus Bank has slashed its non-performing exposure (NPE) by a "significant" EUR 5.5bn ($6.17bn) in 2018.
In its annual report, the bank also said impairment losses on loans was down from EUR 2.02bn in 2017 to EUR 599m last year.
It sealed new loans of EUR 3.1bn in 2018.
The cost of risk improved to 157 basis points (bps), down from 479 bps in 2017.
The default rate is falling and the cure rate improving, the bank said.
It completed two NPE non-shipping portfolio sales of EUR 1.8bn in the period, and has lined up two more disposals of EUR 1.3bn.
The NPE reduction has been "a result of both organic and inorganic effort," it said.
Cash coverage of non-performing loans (NPLs) stood at 77% and the NPE cash coverage ratio at 49%.
Big new NPE reduction target
The new NPE target for the end of 2021 is EUR 11bn, reflecting a decrease of EUR 15bn versus the December 2018 level.
"Asset quality remains a top priority for Greek banks, with progress in reducing the NPE stocks, while additional initiatives are being pursued to de-risk NPEs even further," said chairman George Handjinicolaou.
Net profit was EUR 185m in 2018, against a loss of EUR 9m the year before.
The NPE ratio eased to 53.1% in 2018 from 56% in 2017.
CEO Christos Megalou said: "In terms of asset quality, we have decisively continued to de-risk our balance sheet. We managed to reduce NPE by EUR 5.5bn in 2018, meeting our targets, while maintaining the NPE cash coverage ratio to 49%."
"The bank is pursuing a number of capital actions that are expected to result in capital levels that satisfy both the regulatory requirements, as well as the bank’s risk appetite."
It has been reported that Piraeus Bank is looking to offload a package of ship loans worth between EUR 500m and EUR 600m ($680m).
Hedge funds are expected to move for the portfolio, known as Nemo, Reuters cited financial sources as saying.
A source close to the deal said the book is made up of both non-performing and performing loans.
