* Year net profit 380 million euros, vs forecast 378 million
* Bad loans ratio at 5.01 pct end-Dec, vs 4.72 pct end-Sept
* Core capital 8.20 pct end-Dec, vs 7.84 pct end-Sept
* Shares down 2.0 percent
(Adds detail on property, analyst comment, share price)
MADRID, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Spanish retail bank Banco Sabadell met forecasts with a 27 percent fall in 2010 net profit, weighed down mainly by higher loan loss provisions.
"The results are broadly in line with our estimates, with the net buoyed by capital gains. But core banking activity remains sluggish and margins are still under pressure, a trend which is likely to continue in the next quarters," an analyst at a leading Spanish bank said on Thursday.
Sabadell shares were down 2.0 percent at 0820 GMT, compared with a 0.6 percent fall on the blue chip IBEX index.
Its 380 million euro ($521 million) net profit in 2010 compared with a forecast for 378 million in a Reuters poll.
The outcome was helped by one-off gains and the impact of consolidating from Dec. 1 smaller peer Banco Guipuzcoano, acquired by the Barcelona-based bank last year. The bank booked capital gains of 296 million euros from asset sales in 2010.
Net interest income fell 8.8 percent to 1.46 billion euros, in line with the forecast, as the deposit price war in Spain continued to squeeze margins.
Bad loans as a percentage of total lending rose to 5.01 percent at end-December from 4.72 percent at end-September, with loan loss provisions rising 15.6 percent to 968.1 million euros.
Sabadell said its total loan exposure to property developers and constructors stood at 10.2 billion euros in 2010, equivalent to 13.9 percent of its total loan book.
The Bank of Spain has tightened its requirements for all banks to provide greater transparency on their exposure to the country's ailing property market.
Sabadell's core capital stood at 8.20 percent at the end of 2010, up from 7.84 percent at the end of September.
On Monday, Spain announced a banking overhaul requiring all banks and savings banks to have a minimum core capital ratio of 8 percent by September. The new regulation was an effort to boost confidence in the country's financial system and dampen expectations of the need for an Ireland-style bailout. (Reporting by Judy MacInnes; Editing by Dan Lalor) ($1 = 0.7296 euro)