CaixaBank warned yesterday of a contraction in credit demand with the 0.25% increase in interest rates, up to 3.75%, announced on Thursday by the ECB. In the presentation of the results of the first quarter of the year, the CEO Gonzalo Gortázar assured that there is a “very substantial” reduction in the demand for credit, both in housing and in companies, as it becomes more expensive due to the increase in interest rates. Despite the unfavorable situation, the evolution of the bank’s new production credits increased in all segments: mortgages (6%), consumer (4%) and companies (21%).
In terms of results, the bank managed to increase its profits by 21.1% in the first quarter of the year, up to 855 million euros, despite paying 373 million of the temporary banking tax approved by the Government central The revaluation of portfolios (mortgages and loans) due to the increase in Euribor boosted the interest margin by 49%, to 2,163 million. Once the tax is taken into account, the gross margin grows less, by 17%, up to 3,101 million. Gonzalo Gortázar gave a positive assessment of the accounts in a press conference, he emphasized that the entity has allocated almost 1,000 million to taxes – the company tax, the special banking tax and other surcharges – until March. “We have paid more taxes than the results obtained. The effective tax rate exceeds 50% and it does not seem logical to us for a financial activity”, he said. “We are not having excessive profits, they are moderate”, he said.
In activity, the entity looks firm. “Commercial performance has been frankly good in a period in which the economy has been more resilient than expected,” he pointed out. Amidst high volatility, “the economic figures are clearly better than we expected”, he added. The entity, in fact, plans to improve its growth forecast for this 2023, now set at 1.3%, and limits the banking crisis to specific cases that have occurred due to particular business models and ineffective supervision.
The bank – like the rest of the sector – has fully charged the impact of the tax in the first quarter of the year. Therefore, the increase in profits will continue in the coming quarters because mortgage and credit fees will be higher, except for those with fixed rates.
Gortázar detailed that, on average, customers with variable mortgages face an increase in fees of 90 euros per month. In any case, it is argued that the effort – the amount of income intended to pay installments – will be less than the recommended 30% even if the Euribor reaches 4%. “With this, we are not seeing a worsening of delinquency”, he assessed.
Total credit reached 351,215 million and remained stable during the year, despite the increase in repayments, mainly in the mortgage segment. Delinquencies continue at historic lows (2.7%). The delinquency in ICO credits is 4.4% with 40% already amortized. Net commissions are flat as they grew just 0.1% to 937 million. Regarding the remuneration of deposits, Gortázar was measured with the possibility of increasing returns, which should first be focused on the largest amounts.
With a workforce of 44,654 workers, the number of offices was reduced by 141 last year, up to 4,263 branches. Now that the merger with Bankia has been completed, “there are no extraordinary reductions planned”.