Greek Eurobank H1 net falls 61.4%, in line with fcasts

ATHENS Aug 27 (Reuters) - EFG Eurobank (EFGr.AT), Greece's second-largest lender, said on Thursday first-half group net profit fell 61.4 percent year-on-year, hit by a rise in loan loss provisions and slower volumes at home and southeast Europe.

Eurobank said net earnings fell to 169 million euros ($240 million), in line with market expectations. Analysts polled by Reuters were forecasting net earnings of 169.5 million on average, with estimates ranging from 162 to 182 million euros.

Quarter-on-quarter, the bank said earnings grew 9 percent to 88 million euros, also in line with analyst forecasts.

EFG, with operations in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey, Poland and Ukraine, said net interest income dropped 1.9 percent year-on-year in the first half to 1.134 billion euros. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)