Munich - Germany's HVB banking group said Wednesday it posted a loss of 285 million euros (356 million dollars) in the third quarter as a result of the global financial market turmoil.

This compared to a profit of 83 million euros in the same quarter of the previous year for the Munich-based bank, which is the German offshoot of Italy's Unicredit.

A trading loss of 490 million euros coupled with increased outlays to boost credit risk provisions, were major factors in the bank's 2008 third quarter performance, the company said.

HBV shares slumped 8.2 per cent to 3.60 euros after the figures were released.

For the first nine months of the year, the company said it turned in a pre-tax profit of 70 million euros.

But because of the uncertainties on financial markets, it was not possible to make reliable projections for the rest of the year, the bank said.

The figures came a day after insurer AMB Generali reported a third-quarter loss of 75.2 million euros and said it was not able to give a projection for the rest of the year.

In the first nine months of 2008 AMB Generali's net earnings slumped 85 per cent to 58.8 million euros and operating profit was down 77 per cent to 117 million euros. (dpa)