Ljubljana, 18 May (STA) - NLB reported a group net profit of EUR 25m for the first quarter of 2015, down 13% year-on-year, as the bank continues to struggle with non-performing loans and writedowns.

Non-performing loans accounted for EUR 2.6bn gross or 25.6% of the total loan portfolio, an increase of 0.5 percentage points over the same period last year, the bank said Monday.

Write-downs and provisions were down 11% on the year before but still amounted to EUR 21.2m.

The year-on-year comparison shows loans to the non-banking sector dropping 3% and deposits remaining level.

But NLB said in a press release the core bank saw deposits rise 1% since the start of the year.

Total assets, a gauge of a bank's overall volume of business, dropped 3% at group level to EUR 10.6bn.

The bank said the restructuring process, launched in 2013, was continuing, as 15 of the 23 projects have been completed.