After the absorption of Bankia, CaixaBank has also become the first bank in Spain in retaining individual savings, a crucial variable at a time marked by high interest rates and the growing need to reinforce liabilities to respond to demands. of capital. It accounts for 29.8% of all the money deposited by clients in the domestic market, after slightly increasing its share in the last year, according to a report presented today by Alvarez
Between current accounts, deposits, investment funds and pension plans, the bank totals 587,335 million euros, compared to 1.96 billion for all entities with operations in Spain. Many individuals have dedicated themselves to paying off their mortgage or investing in the stock market or Treasury bills in the last year. Despite this, the banks have managed to keep this volume of savings on their balance sheets barely unchanged.
Caixabank’s figures exceed those of Santander, with 422,190 million raised in Spain, 21.4% of the total, and those of BBVA, with 322,762 million, 16.4%. Between the three entities, they account for 67% of individual savings, despite the fact that Sabadell, with 160,528 million and an 8.2% share, is the entity that has beaten the competition the most in the last year.
“Banks are now capturing deposits at a monthly rate of 14 billion and it is possible that as a whole this year they will add 160 billion to their base,” said the senior director of financial services at Alvarez.
Only 17% of savings are in term deposits, which, according to the report’s authors, is an anomaly compared to the trend in Europe. This allows banks to manage a huge volume of liabilities in current accounts without offering hardly any profitability to clients, who in exchange can use the money whenever they want.
CaixaBank clients, for example, barely have 11.6% of their money in deposits, almost six points less than the sector average, which limits their remuneration to an average of just 1.9%. On the other hand, 24% of Santander’s savings are in deposits, and that contributes to the bank paying a little more, 2.1% on average. Bankinter is the one with the largest portion of savings in deposits, 29%, although it rewards savings at just 1.6%.
The average profitability of savings in Spain was 2% last year, which, in a scenario of high interest rates and credit tightening, implies an excellent margin for banks. This percentage was lower than inflation or the yield on Treasury bills.
Fernando de la Mora, managing director of financial services at Alvarez
Except for CaixaBank, which has already integrated with Bankia, and Santander, which took over Popular, the rest of the banks could participate in an additional consolidation of the sector. “Valuations have increased and the environment is more favorable, although something else is what ends up happening later,” says De la Mora. Sector sources cite BBVA and Sabadell as the entities that should be most interested in exploring consolidation movements.
The report also shows that banks’ average income per branch reached a record last year, although that does not mean that offices are more productive and that entities are going to stop closures. The calculation is the result of dividing the total income, which increased due to rate increases, by the number of branches, which continues to fall.
CaixaBank is the entity with the most branches, with 3,876, 5% less than a year before, due in part to the review process after the merger with Bankia. BBVA has 1,882, 0.2% less, and Santander 1,874, 2% less. Sabadell, with 1,194, and Unicaja, with 958, are next on the list.
The one that earns the most per branch is Santander, with 296,000 euros, compared to 257,000 for Bankinter, 209,000 for BBVA, 197,000 for Sabadell and 176,000 for CaixaBank.
