NICOSIA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Cyprus, the resolved primary lender of bailed-out Cyprus, posted a loss of 553 million euros (649 million U.S. dollars) in the first nine months this year, on account of reduced net interest and increased provisions for non-performing loans, a bank statement said on Tuesday.
The loss compared with a net profit of 62 million euros for the same period last year.
Total provisions and impairments rose to 840 million euros in the first three quarters of 2017, from 301 million euros a year before, the bank said.
Bank of Cyprus said it reduced its delinquent loan portfolio by 588 million euros in the third quarter to below 9.2 billion euros, or 47.6 percent total loan portfolio, against 9.7 billion euros or 50 percent at the end of the second quarter.
The bank's statement said it had received regulatory approval to set up a real estate fund which was listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange as a means of reducing bad loans.
"This circa 190-million-euro real estate fund is the first of its kind in Cyprus and adds further pace to our efforts to accelerate balance sheet de-risking," the bank's CEO John Hourican said in a statement.
"We expect the organic reduction of our non-performing exposures stock to continue its downward trajectory in the coming quarters," the Irish banker added.
Despite its loss, Hourican said the Bank of Cyprus continued to make steady and positive progress in its journey back to strength.
Bank of Cyprus seized 47.5 percent of large deposits over 100,000 euros to recapitalize as a condition for a 10-billion-euro assistance package offered to Cyprus in March 2013 to bring the country back from the brink of bankruptcy. (1 euro = 1.174 U.S. dollars)
