Santander has joined BBVA and Bankinter in announcing a record profit, in its case of 11,076 million euros, the largest reported these days and 15% higher than the previous year. The interest rate increases explain the improvement, which is expected to continue this year, in which the bank expects to continue increasing its income by around 5%.
During last year, it obtained an interest margin of 43,261 million euros, 16% more, and reached 12,057 million in commissions, 5% more. The result is revenues of more than 55,000 million euros, 11% higher than the previous year. The increase is due to “growth in customer activity and the good performance of all regions,” he says.
The year was also a record in customer acquisition, with 5 million, and was characterized, apart from high interest rates, by the implementation of the One Transformation strategy, in search of greater efficiency. The business has gone from being organized by country to being organized by large global divisions, which offer more homogeneous and simplified products.
Of the countries in which the bank operates, Spain became the one with the best results last year, despite the extraordinary banking tax. It earned 2,371 million euros, 52% more, above the 1,921 million in Brazil, the 1,560 million in Mexico or the 1,545 million in the United Kingdom.
During the year, the bank assumed a total cost of 12,458 million in insolvency provisions, 19% higher than the previous year. Its good quality capital with respect to all assets stood at 12.3%, above the requirements of the European Central Bank (ECB).
By business areas, those that registered the greatest growth were large wealth management, known as Wealth, 22%, and investment banking, CIB, 17%.
The 2023 objectives have been met and, by 2024, they involve raising income at a rate of “mid-single digits”, controlling the cost of risk, keeping efficiency at bay and having good quality capital greater than 12% of the assets.
“We have achieved record results and achieved all the objectives in the right way,” says the president of the bank, Ana Botín, before estimating the money that will be allocated to shareholders for the 2023 accounts at 5.5 billion euros.
Santander has increased the proportion of profits that are dedicated to rewarding shareholders from 40% to 50% and has increased the interim dividend already announced against last year by 39%, apart from repurchasing shares for 1,310 million euros.
The forecast is that, by applying the same pay out in the second dividend charged to 2023, the total payment will be 50% higher than the previous year and the amount allocated to shareholders, including share repurchases, will be 5.5 billion euros.
