FRANKFURT

The bank made a pre-tax profit of around 800 million euros ($1.1 billion) in 2010, of which 131 million came in the fourth quarter, a statement said.

It posted a pre-tax loss of almost 2.8 billion euros in 2009 and nearly double that in 2008.

The provisional 2010 result is "clearly superior" to the bank's own forecasts, the statement said before adding that detailed results would be published on March 30.

It booked provisions against loan losses of 800 million euros last year, compared with almost 3.3 billion euros in 2009.

Restructuring costs fell meanwhile to 1.4 billion euros from 2.12 billion.

BayernLB made headlines early this month when a former director, Gerhard Gribkowsky, was arrested on suspicion of pocketing tens of millions in illegal payments from a 2005 deal that shook up the ownership of Formula One.

He is suspected of having received 50 million dollars in illicit commissions as part of the sale of the bank's stake in a company holding the commercial rights of Formula One to private equity group CVC.