Santander's 9-mth net down 2.8 pct meets forecasts

The eurozone's biggest bank Santander posted a 2.8 percent fall in net profit on Wednesday, in line with expectations.

Net profit was 6.74 billion euros ($10.03 billion) in line with expectations for 6.724 billion euros in a Reuters poll.

Net interest income rose 24.3 percent to 19.478 billion euros and operating income jumped 21.7 percent to 17.232 billion euros, just below forecasts.

Bad loans rose 3.03 percent from 2.82 percent at the end of June.