ING Bank Śląski, the Polish branch of Dutch ING, has posted a quarterly loss for the first time in five years. The firm's net loss in Q4 2008 amounted to zł.129 million, far lower than the zł.94 million average loss forecast by a Reuters poll.

“The loss is bigger due to higher charges for credit risk,” Tomasz Bursa, an analyst at Ipopema brokerage told Reuters. “The bank was also negatively impacted by charges on currency options, which are some of the largest on the market.” 

According to ING Bank Śląski, it saw losses of zł.163 million on currency option contracts with corporate clients. (RG)

Source: Reuters