Italy's Intesa bank posts 8.2bn euro loss

Italy's second biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo on Thursday posted a loss for 2011 of 8.19 billion euros ($10.7 billion), down sharply from a 2.7 billion euro profit posted a year earlier. The bank said the hefty loss came from a "highly prudent" 10.2-billion-euro writedown in the the fourth quarter based on market evolutions and the outlook for the foreseeable future. The exceptional item would have no impact on cash-flow, liquidity, solidity, capital ratios and future profitability, the bank said. The company also posted a 400-million-euro loss on its Greek debt holdings and another 120-million-euro writedown on its stake in Telco, the holding that controls Telecom Italia. Without the measures, the bank said it "delivered solid financials in 2011 despite a difficult market environment" and said that it is "well positioned to tackle challenges and exploit opportunities". Shares on Thursday in Intesa Sanpaolo gained 0.67 percent on a Milan stock market down by 0.28 percent.