BARCELONA (Reuters) - Spain's largest savings bank La Caixa raised its recurring net profit by 33.5 percent to 2.01 billion euros ($2.99 billion) last year and forecast that would double in the next four years.

Including extraordinary items at La Caixa, a powerful political player in Spanish finance as it actively buys and sells stakes in companies, net profit fell 17.8 percent to 2.49 billion euros.

Net interest income rose 30.6 percent to 3.63 billion euros.

La Caixa said its non-performing loan ratio ticked up to 0.55 percent of the total from 0.33 percent a year ago, as lenders start to default as interest rates rise and the economy slows.

Managing Director Juan Maria Nin told reporters he did not expect bad loans to rise so much in percentage terms in 2008 but added that the bank had put aside 143 million euros of extraordinary provisions to deal with a rise in defaults.

La Caixa said it had 25 billion euros of liquidity and Nin said the unlisted savings bank could issue mortgage-backed securities if needed, selling them to institutional or retail investors "depending on the price."

Last year, La Caixa listed its industrial holding arm Criteria (CRIT.MC: Quote, Profile, Research), which owns stakes in some of Spain's most important companies and is now expanding abroad, having recently bought 8.9 percent of The Bank of East Asia (0023.HK: Quote, Profile, Research).

It said Criteria's stakes held virtual capital gains of more than 12 billion euros at the end of December.

(Reporting by Juan Navarro; writing by Jane Barrett; Editing by Paul Bolding)