With “very satisfactory developments” in Portugal, Bankinter wants to join the state guarantee to support young people in buying a home
Bankinter’s subsidiary in Portugal contributed positively to the Spanish group’s results in the first nine months of the year. Gloria Ortiz, executive president (CEO) of Bankinter, said this Thursday that Portugal continues to have “a very satisfactory evolution”. Both Portugal and Ireland are gaining weight in the group’s gross business margin.
O Bankinter group presented 731 million in profit between January and September. In Portugal, pre-tax profit reached 154 million euros, and the Portuguese operation continues to have “growth potential”, says the CEO.
Regarding the large numbers of the operation in Portugal, the manager highlighted the growth in credit of 11%, to 10 billion euros, with growth of 7% in commercial banking and 22% in corporate banking.
The NPL ratio in Portugal was 1.3%, below that recorded in Spain, which was 2.2%, despite the size of the business in the two countries not being comparable.
Rates in Portugal in the first nine months of the year grew by 12%, to 56 million euros, and the financial margin (difference between what the bank pays on deposits and what it charges on credit) increased by 15%, to 211 million euros .
Provisions totaled 30 million euros, 30% more compared to the same period in 2023.
At the results conference, Gloria Ortiz admitted that, with falling interest rates, bank revenue will tend to fall and the remuneration of deposits will also suffer.
The CEO of Bankinter highlighted that the fundamental problem with regard to real estate credit is the insufficient supply of homes on the market.
Furthermore, Bankinter is “very pleased to finance” the purchase of housing both for young people in Spain, and in the near future for “young people in Portugal”, said Jacobo Diaz, the bank’s financial director. According to the manager, the bank already finances 100% in the Spanish market, and expects to be able to do this also in Portugal, under the state guarantee to facilitate the purchase of a home by young people.
During this Thursday’s press conference, the discussion about the extraordinary contribution to banking in Spain was a dominant topic. Gloria Ortiz questioned the fact that the Government could make this tax definitive.
The CEO of Bankinter also stated that it is “a political issue” and feels that “it is discriminatory for the sector”. But it did not say whether it will challenge this matter in court, nor whether this tax is being passed on to customers in any way, despite questions from journalists.
