Israel's Bank Hapoalim Q2 profit slips
JERUSALEM, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Bank Hapoalim, Israel's largest lender, reported slightly lower-than-expected quarterly profit on lower financing income and higher credit loss provisions.
Hapoalim said on Tuesday it earned 812 million shekels ($227 million) in the second quarter, down from 1.1 billion shekels a year earlier. It was forecast to make a profit of 820 million shekels, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
In the second quarter of 2016, Hapoalim had posted a gain of 109 million shekels from the sale of Visa Europe shares amid its acquisition by Visa Inc.
Net financing income rose to 2.2 billion shekels in the reported quarter from 2.1 billion shekels last year, but a decline in non-interest income pushed total income down to 3.7 billion shekels from 3.9 billion shekels.
Hapoalim posted net credit loss expenses of 167 million shekels, compared with an income of 128 million shekels from provisioning a year earlier.
Its core Tier 1 capital ratio to risk-weighted assets, a key measure of financial strength, rose to 11.35 percent from 11.21 percent at the end of March.
The bank declared a quarterly dividend of 325 million shekels, or 0.24 shekel per share, for a payout 40 percent of net profit.