National Bank of Greece 1Q net profit down 21 pct

National Bank of Greece on Friday said its first quarter net profit fell 21 percent on the year, largely as a result of higher provisions for credit risk.

NBG, the country's largest lender by assets, said net profit was euro317 million ($447 million) in the January-March period. Net profit in Turkey was up 17 percent on the year, and declined by 26 percent on the year in southeastern Europe.

Total group lending was euro67.6 billion ($95.3 billion), up 18 percent on the year. But compared with the last quarter of 2008, lending grew 3 percent in Greece, 2 percent in Turkey and remained unchanged in southeastern Europe.

Deposits grew 14 percent year-on-year to euro69 billion ($97.3 billion).

The group's non-performing loan ratio was 3.7 percent, compared to 3.5 percent in January-March 2008.

"Though uncertainty over developments in the coming quarters remains high, I feel more confident now about our ability to come out stronger from the crisis in order to make use of growth opportunities," NBG chairman and CEO Takis Arapoglou said.