March 05, 2009

Chile's banking sector profit totaled 76.4 billion pesos ($124.76 million) in January, the banks regulator said on Wednesday, without giving comparative figures, while an industry group said loan growth would plummet this year.The sector's profit represents a nominal fall of 16.3 percent from the gain posted in January 2008, but the Banking and Financial Institutions Superintendency said the results were not comparable because of changes in accounting norms.

It said Santander Chile STG.SN(SAN.N), Chile's largest private bank, posted a profit of 24.723 billion pesos ($40.3 million) during the month."Bank earnings, measured as the return on capital, have been affected basically by lower interest margins and adjustments, the effect of valuations of financial instruments and higher provision costs as a result of recognized higher portfolio risk," the superintendency said in a statement.