Eurozone crisis stings Austria's Erste Bank

Erste Bank, Austria's biggest listed bank, predicted Monday a 2011 net loss of 700-800 million euros ($0.9-1.1 billion) due to one-off charges related to the eurozone debt crisis. As a result, the bank said it would delay repaying a first tranche of state aid "by at least one year." The announcement sent its shares down more than nine percent in morning trade. The bank booked one-off charges related to cutting its sovereign debt exposure in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy, as well as in Hungary due to "unprecedented government intervention" in the banking market. It also reduced the value of investments in Romania in its accounts to reflect a slower-than-expected economic recovery, while also booking charges related to changes in accounting. For the first nine months of the year, it said it expects to report a loss of 920-970 million euros. Adjusted for the extraordinary items, it would have booked a profit of 700 million euros, it said. The bank also said it would not be pay a dividend to shareholders this year.