MILAN (AP) — Italian lender UniCredit says its earnings dropped in the fourth quarter, on a day its shares were being battered amid broad concerns over the country's banking system.

UniCredit reported Tuesday a net profit of 153 million euros ($170 million), down from 170 million euros a year earlier. Its operating income, a top-line gauge of revenue, fell to 5.59 billion euros from 5.60 billion euros.

CEO Federico Ghizzoni said the result was good "considering the challenging macroeconomic environment in Europe, in particular the banking sector."

Shares in Italian banks have been weighed down this year due to concerns about bad loans on their books. UniCredit's stock was down 4.1 percent at 2.88 euros.