Dresdner Bank lost over €517m ($458m) in the fourth quarter last year on the back of a €620m restructuring charge, a sharp increase in bad loan provisions and difficult market conditions, according to its preliminary results for 2001.

While Dresdner managed to make a post-tax profit of €186m for the entire year, a comparison with the bank's full interim statement for the first nine months of 2001 shows that this is €517m below the €701m in profits at the end of September. It also marks an 89% fall on 2000's results. Net provision for bad loans increased €529m in the fourth quarter to €1.9bn for the year.