DnB NOR Q2 lags forecast, repeats 2010 target

* Q2 pretax profit 1.15 bln vs 2.08 bln f'cast

* Repeats 2009 writedowns on loans NOK 8-10 bln

* Sees higher writedowns in Baltics, lower in Norway

(Adds details, comment, shares)

OSLO, July 10 (Reuters) - Norway's biggest bank DnB NOR (DNBNOR.OL) repeated its main 2010 financial target on Friday after posting a bigger-than-forecast drop in second-quarter profit.

Pretax profit fell to 1.15 billion Norwegian crowns ($176 million) from 4.36 billion a year before, below the median forecast of 2.08 billion in a Reuters poll.

"There is still great uncertainty about future economic developments, but there are now several signs that the negative trend may be about to reverse," DnB NOR said in a statement.

The company reiterated it estimated total writedowns on loans to reach between 8 billion crowns and 10 billion in 2009, but it expected writedowns to be higher in the Baltic region than previously expected and lower in Norway.

"In addition, developments within shipping and commercial property remain uncertain," it said.

DnB NOR and other Nordic banks have lived through years of solid growth but the global downturn has hit results in both home markets and the Baltic states, where it has investments through its 51 percent owned DnB NORD.

DnB NOR in May forecast writedowns in DnB NORD of between 3 billion crowns and 4 billion, 0.7-1 billion in shipping and 4-5 billion for the remaining portfolio.

DnB NOR, which is the first Nordic bank to report second-quarter figures, stood by its target of pretax operating profit before writedowns of 20 billion crowns in 2010.

The company said it considered itself to be adequately capitalised and maintained its ambition to increase the core capital ratio through organic growth to a minimum 8 percent by the end of 2010 from 7.3 percent by mid-2009.

Shares in DnB NOR closed at 45.85 crowns on Thursday, valuing the group at about 61.1 billion crowns.

(Reporting by Aasa Christine Stoltz; Editing by David Holmes)

((aasachristine.stoltz@reuters.com; +47 22 93 69 02; Reuters messaging: rm://aasachristine.stoltz.reuters.com@reuters.net))

($1=6.533 Norwegian Crown) Keywords: DNBNOR/

(C) Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution ofReuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expresslyprohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuterssphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group ofcompanies around the world.nLA336621