Greece's biggest lender National Bank on Friday said it had posted a nine-month loss of 2.45 billion euros ($3.2 billion) while number two Alpha Bank said it had lost 711.8 million over the same period. Both banks said they had taken a hit to their books after participating in Greek sovereign debt reduction operations this year, and called for recapitalisation funds of 2.3 billion and 1.6 billion euros, respectively.

NBG's operating income dropped 10 percent to 3.03 billion euros in the first nine months of the year, with operating costs down three percent to 1.7 billion. Alpha Bank's takings fell by 38.2 percent to 1.07 billion while expenses were reduced by 5.6 percent to 785.7 million euros.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012