* Piraeus Bank 9M net 14 million eur, down 94 percent y/y
* Bad loan provisions rise 26 percent
* Piraeus Bank deposits up 1.2 percent q/q to 24.4 bln eur
(Adds chairman comment, details)
ATHENS, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Piraeus Bank, the smallest of Greece's big four lenders, reported a massive 94 percent drop in nine-month profit, hurt by higher taxes, weak loan growth and higher provisions amid a severe recession.
Coming three days after a comparably weak set of earnings from Alpha, Greece's third-biggest lender, Piraeus' results on Friday show how Greek banks are struggling to remain profitable after the debt crisis, weak credit growth and increased bad loans.
Net earnings dropped to 14 million euros ($18.72 million). The result was broadly in line with the mean estimate for a net profit of 9.7 million in a Reuters poll of analysts.
A deepening recession weighed on loan demand and asset quality, leading to higher loan-loss provisions which rose 26 percent to 418 million euros.
Net interest income rose 10 percent year-on-year to 897 million euros.
Deposits slightly increased between July and September by 1.2 percent from the previous quarter, to 24.4 billion euros.
Piraeus booked in the second quarter a 28 million euro windfall tax the government imposed to shore up public finances.
Piraeus, which barely passed a Europe-wide bank stress test in July, said last month it was planning to raise a total 1.05 billion euros via an issue of new shares and convertible bonds.
"The bank's major shareholders have responded very favourably (to the share capital increase plan)," Piraeus chairman Michalis Sallas said in a statement.
A shareholder meeting on Tuesday was postponed due to a lack of quorum and will now be held on Dec. 6.
Greek banks including Piraeus have become reliant on liquidity injections from the ECB to refinance their business in the wake of the country's debt crisis. (Reporting by Harry Papachristou. Editing by Jane Merriman and Alex Smith) ((harry.papachristou@thomsonreuters.com; +30 210 3376455; Reuters Messaging: harry.papachristou.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ($1=.7479 Euro)