CaixaBank’s profits soared by 48.2% in the first three quarters of the year, to 3,659 million euros. The good performance of the interest margin stands out, which is the result of the purely banking activity of collecting for the money lent and paying for the money deposited by clients. It grew by 60.7%, up to 7,364 million euros. Obviously the rise in interest rates has allowed the bank – like the sector – to earn more from the installments of the same loans.
This good evolution of margins has compensated for the drop in commission income, which was 5.3%. In a statement, the CEO, Gonzalo Gortázar, stated that “in a context of normalization of interest rates, we have obtained a solid result, with good commercial dynamics and prudent management of credit risk.” The analysis of the evolution of the isolated third quarter already shows a lower growth of the ratios than in the first nine months as a whole.
The payment of the temporary bank tax is already incorporated into the results. Gortázar wanted to highlight that the growth in profits is “great news for our more than 600,000 shareholders and in particular for the La Caixa Foundation and the FROB, which will receive a higher dividend.”
As has happened to other Spanish entities, the rise in rates has also had a negative effect since it has caused the healthy credit portfolio to decrease by 1.7%, to 345,388 million. The bank has specified that it is a fall “in line with the trend of the sector.” CaixaBank has explained that the drop in home acquisition credit was 3.9% due to “amortizations and lower production compared to the previous year in a context of rising interest rates.” This decline has been offset by the better performance of the business and consumer portfolio.
Regarding delinquency, the bank has reported that it stands at 2.7%, which remains stable so far this year. In the first nine months of the year, the workforce grew by 146 people (to a total of 44,771 workers), while the office network was reduced by 205. It has 4,199 worldwide.