The year started just as well as last year for the banks, with the sudden rise in interest rates still underway, which have not yet begun to fall. Banc Sabadell earned 308 million euros in the first quarter of the year, 50.4% more than in the same period of 2023. The result was obtained despite the fact that the entity paid 192 million to the Treasury corresponding to the extraordinary tax on banking.
The group’s shares soared to nearly 10% in the early moments of the session, with a positive reception among investors.
In a statement sent to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the bank has reported that its British subsidiary TSB contributed 46 million euros to the group’s profit “after increasing the formalization of mortgages in the United Kingdom by 41% with respect to the same period of the previous year”. The bank is carrying out a restructuring process at TSB.
The bank has assured that the improvement in profits is due to the “dynamism of commercial activity and the improvement in asset quality, which have allowed it to increase the interest margin and reduce provisions.” The increase in profits allows the bank to improve its profitability to 12.2%.
In the statement, the bank’s CEO, César González-Bueno, highlighted the good start to the year and added that “we have accelerated the acquisition of individual digital clients and launched the new account for the self-employed.”
The financial director, Leopoldo Alvear, has highlighted that the entity “continues to demonstrate its ability to generate capital organically, increase its profitability, and constantly improve its risk profile and the quality of its assets.”
The detailed analysis of the first quarter income statement shows that the interest margin grew by 11.9% year-on-year, up to 1,231 million; while commissions stood at 340 million euros, with a decrease of 3.1% year-on-year.
The evolution of results was also influenced by the 11.6% reduction in provisions and impairments, which stood at 208 million.
Banco Sabadell’s outstanding credit closed the first quarter of the year with a balance of 150,796 million euros, which represents a year-on-year decrease of 1.2%.
The default ratio stood at 3.46% in March. It is slightly lower than the 3.52% of the previous quarter.
