Santander increases net profit by 36% in the third quarter, supported in Brazil and Spain

MADRID (Reuters) – The Santander Bank said on Wednesday that its net profit in the third quarter had increased 36 percent over the same period last year, thanks to its strong results in Spain and the US. underlying benefit in Brazil that offset the losses in Argentina.

Santander, the Eurozone's largest bank of market capitalization, reported a net profit of 1,990 million euros over the period from July to September. Analysts expected a net profit of 1,920 million euros.

In Argentina, where the bank gets 1% of its net profit, the entity recorded a loss of 169 million euros during the quarter, after reformulating its accounts to reflect hyperinflation, although that it has also had a positive impact on equity. € 105 million.

Santander's diversification abroad, particularly in Brazil, has enabled it to cope with the tough conditions of banks in Europe since the financial crisis.

In Brazil, where the bank makes more than a quarter of its profit, net profit decreased by 6.1% compared to the same period of the previous year due to the depreciation of the Brazilian real.

Excluding the depreciation of the real, net income for the quarter increased 16.7%, driven by strong growth in business volumes.

In Spain, its second largest market, net profit almost tripled thanks to the positive contribution of the Banco Popular acquisition.

In this market, the interest margin – the difference between what the bank charges for loans and pays for deposits – decreased by 0.9 during the quarter, but increased by 5.5% compared to the quarter previous.

Overall, the interest margin amounted to € 8,350 million between June and September, 3.8% less than a year ago and 1.5% compared to the previous quarter due to the pressure of falling interest rates. interest rate.

Analysts had predicted a net interest margin of € 8,220 million.

(1 USD = 0.8790 euros)

(Information of Jesús Aguado, written by Emma Pinedo, edited by Belén Carreño)