HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nordea Bank, the Nordic region's biggest lender, posted on Tuesday a bigger-than-expected drop in first-quarter operating profit, citing higher regulatory costs.
Operating profit fell 12 percent from a year earlier to 621 million euros (£537.3 million), missing analysts' average expectation of 730 million in a Reuters poll of 19 analysts.
Interest income, the bank's most important income line, fell 8 percent year-on-year to 1.06 billion euros, having been under pressure due to fierce competition in mortgages and household loans across the region.
(Reporting by Anne Kauranen and Tarmo Virki; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
