Italy's UniCredit rebounds to 4Q, FY profits

Italian lender UniCredit rebounded to profit in the fourth quarter as the new business plan helped boost interest, fees and commissions.

Italy's largest bank by assets on Thursday reported quarterly net profit of 801 million euros ($984 million), compared with a loss of 13.5 billion euros last year that included one-off expenses. Interest income rose by 7 percent to 2.6 billion while fees and commissions were up by 12 percent to 1.7 billion.

The bank said its new business plan was ahead of schedule with bank closures and personnel reductions bringing costs down by 4 percent.

Full-year earnings rebounded to 5.4 billion euros, after a loss last year of 11.7 billion. The bank narrowed its write-downs on bad loans to 2.6 billion from over 12 billion last year.