ATHENS — Alpha Bank on Monday reported losses of 282.2 million euros in the first quarter of 2021, hit by upsized NPE portfolio sales impairments. However, the bank reported resilient core PPI performance, up 2.1 pct compared with the same period last year.

Alpha Bank said new loan disbursements in Greece totaled 1.1 billion euros in the January-March period, providing significant support to the economy. Private sector deposits in Greece rose by 300 million euros on a quarterly basis, mainly reflecting higher household savings. The bank said its fee franchise remained resilient, generating 84.3 million euros of fees, up from 83.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 despite the challenging environment created by the pandemic.

Pre-provision results was 236.6 million euros, up 16.4 pct from the same period in 2020, net interest revenue rose 3 pct to 399.6 million euros, while repeated operating expenses fell 5.4 pct to 258.4 million euros. Pre-provision results were 137.5 million euros in the first quarter from 537.1 million in 2020.

Alpha Bank said its NPE ratio in Greece was 24 pct and its NPL ratio at 13 pct at the end of March, while the NPE coverage rate was 53 pct (48 pct in Greece).