Nordea Posts Rise In Q1 Profit

Swedish bank

reported a 30 percent gain in its net profit for the first quarter. Nordea's quarterly net profit surged to EUR1.08 billion, versus EUR831 million, in the year-ago period. Its net interest income slipped to EUR1.29 billion from EUR1.36 billion. Operating profit for the quarter came in at 1.41 billion euros ($1.54 billion). Loan losses shrank to EUR122 million, compared to EUR158 million. The common equity Tier 1 ratio came in at 15.6 percent, versus 14.6 percent, a year earlier. Nordea shares declined 0.12 percent to close at $13.02 yesterday.