UniCredit Bank reports record loss of EUR 15 billion

UniCredit, Italy's largest bank, on Tuesday (11 March 2014) posted a record 15 billion-euro loss in the fourth quarter as it cleaned up its balance sheet with write-downs and provisions, part of an attempt to turn the page on its troubled past.

The loss compares with a 553 million-euro shortfall in the fourth quarter a year earlier, AP has reported.

The balance sheet cleanup, which includes more than doubling provisions for bad loans to 9.3 billion euros, comes as the European Central Bank starts a big review of the region's banks.

- While the projected net profit for this year is at 2 billion euros this year, we intend to triple it to 6.6 billion in 2018 - said CEO Federico Ghizzoni.