Skip navigation
Newswire

WestLB likely to make '03 loss, CEO tells lawmakers

DUESSELDORF, Germany, July 24 (Reuters) - The interim chief executive of German state bank WestLB told regional lawmakers on Thursday that the bank was likely to make a loss this year and was examining a writedown for its U.S. aircraft leasing unit.

Parliamentarians who asked not to be named said CEO Johannes Ringel, speaking at a closed meeting of the North Rhine-Westphalia parliament's finance committee, had said the bank would only know for sure about writedowns on its Boullioun Aviation Services unit later this year.

Earlier, banking sources told Reuters the bank [WDLG.UL] faced fresh writedowns of around 300 million euros ($342 million) for Boullioun.

The bank posted a pre-tax loss of 1.7 billion euros in 2002, dragged down by a deal that went sour at its British principal finance unit, prompting a regulatory probe and an overhaul of its risk management.