Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo Reports Flat Earns

MILAN (AP) — Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Italy's second-largest bank, announced Tuesday it would resume dividend payments after reporting flat third-quarter earnings.

The Milan-based bank said net income was €674 million ($1 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30, the same as in the same period a year earlier.

The bank said the government's cancellation of overdraft fees drove a 14 percent decrease in net interest income to €2.6 million from €3 million in the same period of 2008. The elimination of the overdraft fee alone cost €90 million, the bank said.

Net fees and commissions dropped 2.7 percent to 1.36 billion euros in the quarter, while loan-loss provisions declined 3.6 percent to 823 million euros.

Shares in the bank rose 1.55 percent to €2.94 on the Milan stock exchange following the earnings announcement.

Intesa confirmed it would resume paying a dividend for 2009, after canceling its dividend payments last year as part of efforts to restore its capital base.