The top Nordic bank Nordea on Wednesday posted a 15-percent-hike in net profit for 2010 and a 72-percent-jump in the fourth quarter, largely due to Sweden's strong economic recovery.

For all of 2010, the Swedish bank posted a net profit of 2.66 billion euros (3.68 billion dollars), up from 2.31 billion a year earlier, despite a two-percent drop in its net banking income to 5.16 billion euros.

For the October-December period, the bank posted a net profit of 769 million euros, up from 448 million a year earlier, on a net banking income increase of five percent at 1.37 billion euros.

The fourth quarter results were above the expectations of analysts polled by the Dow Jones Newswires, who had predicted a 58-percent net profit jump to 705.3 billion euros, while the net banking income for the three-month period was in line with expectations.

Nordea said it planned to raise its dividend to 0.29 euros per share from 0.25 euros a year earlier.

The good results were largely expected amid rising interest rates in Sweden and the Scandinavian country's strong economic recovery, with its gross domestic product expected to swell more than six percent this year.

Nordea, which counts some 11 million clients, is the largest bank in Sweden and in the entire Nordic region.

Following Wednesday's news, Nordea say its stock price increase 0.44 percent to 79.85 kronor a share in morning trading on a Stockholm stock exchange down 0.34 percent.