National Bank of Greece S.A. (NYSE: NBG) is trying to still manage a turnaround. If earnings are a barometer, then the bank could be on the way back up. The question is whether this sort of earnings is a one-off or indicative of more gains to come. Using year-over-year comparisons is not easy because of mergers and because of banking system changes.

In the fourth quarter of 2013, NBG posted a profit of €547 million. Before you get too excited, the earnings include a gain from tax benefits from prior years. That also helped to offset large loan loss provisions. Excluding items, NBG’s fourth-quarter profit was only €16 million. Still, it is a profit, and NBG lost some €81 million just one quarter earlier.

Loss provisions were €388 million in the fourth quarter. Net interest income was listed as €776 million in the fourth quarter. Some additional items are as follows:

• Net profit for full-year 2013: €809 million for the group, versus losses of €2,140 million in 2012.
• The group’s Turkish franchise, Finansbank, posted net profit of 439 million, down only 9% on a constant currency basis despite Turkey’s woes.
• NBG claims to have a pro-forma Core Tier I of 11.2%, as well as Core Tier I ratio of 10.3%.
• On the BlackRock stress exercise, the capital needs calculated on the basis of the stress tests will be met within a reasonable timeframe, without a share capital increase.
• Reductions in operating expenses in 2013 topped 8%; retail deposits increased by 14% year on year, posting stabilization in Q4, and lending, before deduction of provisions, decreased by 4% year on year to €46.5 billion.
• NBG’s loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 90% in December 2013, versus 101% a year earlier.

The news report has been largely ignored by investors. NBG’s ADRs trading in New York were up almost 3% at $5.78 in mid-afternoon trading on Thursday. That gain may sound big, but many major U.S. banks are up around 2% ahead of the U.S. stress tests at the same time. NBG’s adjusted 52-week trading range is $2.85 to $24.70.

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