Greece's NBG grows '07 profit 70%, Türkiye helps

Reuters - National Bank (NBG), Greece's biggest lender, grew net profit 70 percent last year, cashing in on robust retail credit expansion and the buyout of Türkiye's Finansbank. The group said on Tuesday full-year 2007 net earnings after minorities was 1.678 billion euros ($2.55 billion), at the top end of forecasts. "Our performance in 2007 serves to reinforce our expectations for dynamic growth in the group's business in Greece and the wider region of southeast Europe and Türkiye," NBG Chief Executive Takis Arapoglou said in a statement. National Bank, present in Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and Albania, said Turkish subsidiary Finansbank contributed 448 million euros to group earnings.