BBVA broke its profit record in the first half of the year, with a result of 3,878 million euros, 31% higher than the same period of the previous year. The country that increased profits the most was Spain, 53%, to 1,231 million, despite the 225 million euros that the bank had to pay for the new tax on banks and energy companies.
The rises in interest rates allowed it to raise the interest margin by 33%, which is the difference between the money that comes in for loans and the money that is paid out for deposits. This variable reached 11,410 million euros, 33% more, and is accompanied by a 9.4% increase in income from commissions, up to 2,909 million.
The bank has also just remodeled its management, with the appointment of Luisa Gómez Bravo as the new financial director and Javier Rodríguez Soler as head of investment banking. They are two of the main appointments since Onur Genç made his debut in 2019 as CEO.
In the first half, BBVA increased the number of clients, placed its profitability above 16% and registered a delinquency rate of 3.4%, one tenth above the 3.3% of the previous quarter. It raised provisions for asset impairment by 38%, especially in Mexico, which continues to be its main market, although it did so to respond to the growth in activity.
Loans to customers increased by 3.5%, but in Spain credit investment fell by 1.4% due to the fact that individuals are taking advantage to pay off their mortgages. He assures that in the country consumer credit and credit for medium-sized companies shows good dynamism.
Interest margins in Spain increased by 44%, with an increase of 0.15 points in the default rate. The country, where the group has already recovered the levels of thirteen years ago, is the second in order of obtaining profits for the bank, behind Mexico, where profits were 2,614 million, 30% more.
The bank has good quality capital equivalent to 12.9% of its assets, above regulatory requirements. It defends its “solid financial position” and has just asked the ECB for permission to repurchase shares for 1,000 million euros, which for practical purposes is a way of improving shareholder remuneration, whose titles will be worth more.
“We have closed the first half of 2023 with very solid results” and “we have made great progress in attracting customers and sustainable business, with record figures in the semester,” says the bank’s CEO.
BBVA aspires to exceed 10 million new customers in 2024 compared to 2021. At the end of the first half the figure stood at 7.8 million. 65% of new arrivals do so through digital channels.
