18th February 2025
Banking & Finance Business

Banco Santander post 18% rise in profit

Spanish banking giant Banco Santander on Wednesday posted an 18% rise in 2018 net profit as revenue growth in Spain offset the negative impact of exchange rate fluctuations.

The eurozone’s largest bank by market value said earnings jumped to 7.81 billion euros last year, slightly higher than forecasts by analysts polled by financial information firm Factset at around 7.68 billion euros.

In Spain, its second-biggest market, Santander’s net profit jumped 28% to 1.45 billion euros as the number of its clients grew, the bank said in a statement.

Santander said it had also began to reap benefits from its acquisition of troubled Spanish bank Banco Popular in June 2017.

Banco Santander
Banco Santander (library image).

In Brazil, Santander’s single biggest market which accounts for over a quarter of its income, net profit rise 2.4 % to 2.6 billion euros as loans and funds posted double-digit growth and the bank gained ‘an additional one million loyal customers during the year’.

But the bank’s overall net interest income – a measure of core earnings – was virtually unchanged, inching up 0.1% to 34.3 billion euros, which it attributed to exchange rate fluctuations.

‘Latin America has remained an important engine for growth within the group, with especially strong progress in Brazil and Mexico. In Spain, the integration of Popular is progressing ahead of plan,’ Santander executive chairwoman Ana Botin said in a statement.

ALSO READ: Santander shuts UK branches as online banking surges

In Britain, the bank said ‘a highly competitive landscape placed pressure on revenues’ while operating costs rose because of higher investments in provisions and the digital transformation of its business.

It posted a net profit in the country, its third-biggest market, of 1.36 billion euros, a 9.1% drop over the previous year.

Recent Posts

Trump announces reciprocal tariffs on EU in retaliation to VAT

News Desk

Spain moves closer to reducing the work week by 2.5 hours

News Desk

Unemployment rate in Spain falls to lowest level since 2008 crisis

News Desk

Santander insists ‘UK is a core market’ amid reports that the bank might exit Britain

News Desk

Spanish economy grew 0.8% in 3rd quarter, driven by consumption & exports

News Desk

Spain to introduce shorter working week with same pay by end of 2025

News Desk

Leave a Comment