UniCredit, Italy's biggest lender and one of Europe's top banks, posted a massive net loss for 2011 on Tuesday but a better-than-expected profit in the fourth quarter cheered investors. The bank made a loss of 9.21 billion euros ($12.3 billion) following write-downs and a 7.5-billion-euro capital increase to meet new requirements demanded by regulators in the wake of the global financial crisis.
The company had made a net profit of 1.32 billion euros in 2010. The result had been largely expected after UniCredit last November announced a 10.64-billion-euro net loss for the third quarter. Financial markets responded well, however, after profits for the final quarter came in at 114 million euros compared to the 70 million euros expected by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. "The underlying performance in 2011 showed the resilience of the group in a very challenging environment," UniCredit chief Federico Ghizzoni said.