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☆ Santander Q4 profit at record high on Europe, Brazil lending income
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Strong lending income in Europe and Brazil helped Spain's Santander offset a loss in Argentina and post a record high profit for the last quarter of 2023, beating forecasts. Net profit for the quarter rose 28% year-on-year to 2.93 billion euros, above analysts' expectations for 2.64 billion euros, thanks to a 34% gain in net profit in Europe. For the whole of 2023, net profit rose 15% to a record 11.08 billion euros as revenues rose 10.5%. In Brazil, NII rose 12.3% against the same quarter of 2022 and 7.6% from the third quarter. Santander booked a loss of 20 million euros in Argentina, which accounted for 3% of the bank's total profit for 2023.

Persons: Ana Botin, NII Organizations: Banco Santander, Spain's Santander, Santander, BBVA Locations: London, Europe, Brazil, Argentina, America, Spain, South America

☆ ECB raises minimum capital requirements for Spanish banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view shows the logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Heiko Becker/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has raised the minimum capital requirements for Spanish lenders BBVA (BBVA.MC), Caixabank (CABK.MC), Sabadell (SABE.MC) and Bankinter (BKT.MC) as part of a supervisory review and evaluation process (SREP). The process provides an overall assessment of the challenges that face significant institutions, together with the corresponding solvency requirements and other supervisory measures that banks are expected to comply with for the year ahead. BBVA's capital threshold was also raised to 9.09% for next year from 8.72%. For Unicaja (UNI.MC), the supervisor however maintained its solvency threshold for 2024 unchanged at 8.27% compared to 2023.

Persons: Heiko Becker, Caixabank, Jesús, Emma Pinedo, Sharon Singleton Organizations: European Central Bank, REUTERS, Rights, BBVA, ECB, Spain's Santander, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Sabadell

☆ Bank of Portugal imposes capital buffer for mortgages at four large banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A man walks with his dog outside Bank of Portugal in downtown Lisbon, Portugal, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLISBON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The Bank of Portugal has told Millennium bcp (BCP.LS), Novo Banco, Banco BPI and the local unit of Spain's Santander (SAN.MC), to create a new capital buffer equivalent to 4% of their loan portfolios that are collateralised by home mortgages. It said in a statement on Wednesday the measure addressing "sectoral systemic risk" would come into effect on Oct. 1, 2024, and be reviewed at least every two years. "This instrument has a preventative nature and aims to increase the resilience of institutions in the face of a potential future materialisation of systemic risk in the residential real estate market in Portugal," it said. BPI is owned by Spain's Caixabank and Novo Banco by the U.S. fund Lone Star.

Persons: Rafael Marchante, Spain's Caixabank, Sergio Goncalves, Andrei Khalip Organizations: Bank of Portugal, REUTERS, Rights, Bank of, bcp, Novo Banco, Banco BPI, Spain's Santander, BPI, U.S, Lone Star, Thomson Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, Rights LISBON, Bank of Portugal, Novo

☆ Santander readies sale of bad assets worth 5 bln euros- Cinco Dias
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Polish unit of Spain's Santander (Santander Bank Polska) logo is pictured in Warsaw, Poland, May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) is planning to sell toxic real estate assets with a nominal value of up to 5 billion euros ($5.28 billion), Spanish daily Cinco Dias reported on Monday. Cinco Dias did not mention the price or potential discount on the sale of the assets, while Santander declined to comment. Spanish banks were very active in the past in shedding real estate assets that went sour in the economic slump that followed the bursting of the country's real estate bubble at the end of 2007. ($1 = 0.9469 euros)Reporting by Jesús Aguado, editing by Inti Landauro and Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kacper, Cinco Dias, Jesús Aguado, Inti Landauro, Kim Coghill Organizations: Spain's Santander, Santander Bank Polska, REUTERS, Rights, Santander, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, Rights MADRID

☆ The 'blue dollar' is booming: Argentina's lust for the buck pushed its black-market rate up 60,000% since peso parity ended in 2002
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Anil Varma | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For decades, the nation has been roiled by hyperinflation, sky-high interest rates, a growing mountain of debt, a string of sovereign defaults, and a cratering exchange rate. Rampant inflation has ravaged Argentina's currency over the years, wiping out much of its value against the dollar and ruining its appeal to consumers. The coveted bucks from the back alleys of Buenos Aires have their own price, even their own name: dólar blue, or the "blue dollar." AdvertisementAdvertisementUp 60,000% and going strongThe dollar's unofficial exchange rate smashed above 1,000 pesos for the first time last week, to hit levels almost three times as high as the official rate. That would almost certainly mean the blue dollar surging to new highs.

Persons: —, It's, Javier Milei, Manuel Cortina Organizations: Service, Spain's Santander Group, Cato Institute, Local, Argentine, Monetary Fund, BBVA Locations: Argentina, Buenos Aires, bluedollar.net, American, Brazil, Argentine, Spanish

☆ Santander raises interim cash dividend 39%
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) said on Tuesday its board had approved an interim cash dividend of 0.081 euros ($0.0856) per share against its 2023 results, up 39% from a year ago. The cash dividend is equivalent to around 25% of the group's attributable profit in the first half of 2023, or 1.31 billion euros, the euro zone's No. In February, Santander raised its dividend pay-out policy to 50% from a previous 40% of the group's profit, equally split into cash dividend payments and share buybacks. The dividend was backed by an attributable profit of 5.24 billion euros in the first half and will be paid on Nov. 2. Terms of the share repurchase plan will be set out before it starts.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Glenn Hutchins, Hutchins, Bruce Carnegie, Brown, Jesús Aguado, David Latona, Richard Chang Organizations: Santander Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Spain's Santander, Santander, Carnegie, Thomson Locations: Rights MADRID

JPMorgan Chase Bank is seen in New York City, U.S., March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - JPMorgan's (JPM.N) British retail bank Chase will ban crypto transactions made by customers from Oct. 16 due to an increase in fraud and scams, the company said on Tuesday. "We've seen an increase in the number of crypto scams targeting UK consumers, so we have taken the decision to prevent the purchase of crypto assets on a Chase debit card or by transferring money to a crypto site from a Chase account," a spokesperson for the bank said. JPMorgan has attracted more than 1.6 million customers to its Chase retail bank since launching the mobile app-based service in Britain two years ago, and plans to roll out the consumer bank in other international markets over time. Spain's Santander said last year it would block UK customers from sending real-time payments to crypto exchanges as part of measures to protect customers from scams.

Persons: Caitlin Ochs, Chase, Spain's Santander, Iain Withers, Tom Wilson, Susan Fenton, Christina Fincher Organizations: JPMorgan Chase Bank, REUTERS, Chase, JPMorgan, NatWest, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Chase, Britain

☆ Santander creates two new global businesses for retail, consumer areas
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Santander Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. The new Retail and Commercial unit and Digital Consumer Bank will join Santander's other global operations in Corporate and Investment Banking, Wealth Management and Insurance and Payments, it said in a statement. The bank is benefiting from higher interest rates in Europe as it seeks to expand its investment banking business. Global heads will define the common business and operating model based on global platforms, said the bank, with all operations aligned under five global business areas. The Digital Consumer Bank will be led by Jose Luis de Mora.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ana Botin, Daniel Barriuso, Jose Luis de Mora, Javier San Felix, Matias Sanchez, Jose M ., Victor Matarranz, Jesús Aguado, Joan Faus, Richard Chang Organizations: Santander Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Spain's Santander, Digital Consumer Bank, Corporate, Investment Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance, Santander, Corporate & Investment Banking, Thomson Locations: Rights MADRID, Europe

☆ BNP Paribas beat estimates on debt financing, cost management
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

BNP Paribas , the euro zone's biggest bank, beat estimates in the second quarter as the corporate debt financing business and strong cost management partly offset a slump in securities trading. Group revenue fell 1.5% to 11.4 billion euros, also above expectations, while the cost of risk — money put aside for failing loans - came in lower than expected at 689 million euros. By contrast, sales from global banking activities within CIB - which comprise bond issues, syndicated loans and cash management — jumped by 17.5% in the second quarter at constant scope and currencies. BNP's bottom line in the second quarter also suffered from a set of exceptional items that totaled 723 million euros after tax. These included an 125 million euro provision for an unspecified litigation.

Persons: —, Italy's UniCredit Organizations: BNP, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of, CIB, European Central Bank, Spain's Santander Locations: Bank, FICC, France

The French lender's second-quarter net income fell 4.9% on a reported basis to 2.81 billion euros ($3.12 billion), beating the 2.49 billion euro analyst consensus compiled by the company. Group revenue fell 1.5% to 11.4 billion euros, also above expectations, while the cost of risk - money put aside for failing loans - was lower than expected at 689 million euros. BNP's bottom line also suffered from a set of exceptional items that totalled 723 million euros after tax. These included an 125 million euro provision for unspecified litigation. The group's 5 billion euro share buyback programme will proceed as planned, it confirmed, adding that the second tranche of 2.5 billion euros had been approved and will be launched from early August.

Persons: Italy's, Mathieu Rosemain, Christopher Cushing, Jason Neely, David Goodman Organizations: BNP, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of, European Central Bank, Spain's Santander, Thomson Locations: PARIS, Bank, France

☆ Spain's Santander net profit beats forecasts lifted by home market
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Spain's Santander on Wednesday said its net profit in the second quarter rose 14% year-on-year to 2.67 billion euros ($2.95 billion), as higher interest rates in Europe, mainly in Spain, offset some weakness in Brazil and the United States. Net profit topped the 2.54 billion euros expected by analysts, despite a rise 10% in provisions, and was also 3.9% higher than in the previous quarter. Santander has relied on Latin America in the past to cope with tough conditions but European banks are now reaping benefits from higher interest rates. The bank's overall underlying net interest income, earnings on loans minus deposit costs, rose 12.4% to 10.74 billion euros, above analysts' estimates of 10.45 billion euros.

Organizations: Spain's Santander, Wednesday, Santander Locations: Europe, Spain, Brazil, United States, America

LONDON/MADRID, July 26 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) is planning to hire around 150 bankers primarily in the United States as part of its plans to accelerate growth in its investment banking business, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. Santander's global corporate and investment banking chief, Jose M. Linares, discussed the plans in a town hall held in New York last week, the sources said. So far, the bank has hired more than 20 senior investment bankers chiefly in the United States, Reuters has reported. Net profit at the bank's global corporate and investment bank rose 16% year-on-year in the second quarter to 899 million euros. Santander employs currently around 8,000 staff at its global corporate and investment bank.

Persons: Jose M, Linares, Ana Botin, David Hermer, Marco Antonio Achon, Corporate Finance Darren Jones, Steven Geller, Jones, Hector Grisi, Grisi, Jesús Aguado, Andres Gonzalez, Elisa Martinuzzi, David Evans Organizations: Spain's Santander, Credit Suisse, Reuters, Banking, Corporate Finance, Linares, Global, Santander, U.S ., Thomson Locations: MADRID, United States, New York, U.S, Spanish, Mexico, Europe, Latin America, Santander, America

☆ Santander appoints Pedro Castro e Almeida as Europe's regional head
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MADRID, June 15 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) on Thursday announced it appointed Pedro Castro e Almeida as regional head for Europe, replacing Antonio Simoes, who was hired to head Britain's Legal and General Group (LGEN.L). As regional chief, Castro will be responsible for the bank's businesses in Europe, including its units in Spain, Britain, Poland and Portugal. The appointment will take effect on September 1, subject to customary approvals, with Simoes continuing in his current position until then, the lender said. Castro will lead the transformation in the region and report to the group's CEO, Hector Grisi, while maintaining his current position as CEO of Santander Portugal. Reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by Inti LandauroOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pedro Castro e Almeida, Antonio Simoes, Castro, Simoes, Hector Grisi, Jesús, Inti Organizations: Spain's Santander, General Group, Santander, Inti Landauro, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Europe, Spain, Britain, Poland, Portugal, Santander Portugal

☆ Santander sells distressed loan portfolio worth 1.1 bln euros - Expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, May 5 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) has agreed to sell a portfolio of distressed loans with a gross value of 1.1 billion euros ($1.21 billion) to U.S. private equity fund Cerberus and real estate loan manager Axactor, Expansion reported on Friday. The loan portfolio, dubbed 'Spirit project', includes personal loans, some mortgages, and loans to medium and small companies, Expansion said, citing unidentified financial sources. The first loan portfolio, of around 660 million euros, was sold to Gescobro, a Spanish unit of Cerberus, and the second, of around 440 million euros, to Axactor, it said. Santander declined to comment, while Cerberus and Axactor did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Spanish banks were very active in the past in shedding real estate assets that went bad in the economic slump that followed the bursting of Spain's real estate bubble at the end of 2007.

Lenders wasted little time in charging more for loans when interest rates rapidly rose from an almost 15-year slumber around zero last year, but most have dragged their feet on boosting deposit rates paid to millions of their customers. Money market funds are proving popular among savers seeking bigger returns on their cash as high levels of inflation persist. Data from Refinitiv Lipper showed more than 34 billion euros ($37.6 billion) of net flows into European money market funds in March, the best-selling asset type that month. Fidelity International also reported an 8% year-on-year uplift in flows into money market funds on its investment platform between Jan. 1 and April 26. Some lawmakers have criticised banks for the mismatch between what they charge borrowers and the interest rates offered to savers.

☆ Morning Bid: Wowed by tech, worried by banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

That makes investors wary of such provisions at the likes of HSBC (HSBA.L), Lloyds (LLOY.L) and NatWest Group (NWG.L), all of which are due to report earnings in the coming weeks. Across the Atlantic, First Republic Bank's (FRC.N) plunging deposits and tumbling shares are rippling through the U.S. regional banking sector. U.S. recession fears have also resurfaced after consumer confidence hit a nine-month low, alongside some weak earnings. In a week packed with tech sector earnings, the focus moves from artificial intelligence to advertising revenues as Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (META.O) and streaming device maker Roku Inc (ROKU.O) report. Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:U.S. durable goods orders, Germany and France consumer confidenceEarnings: Meta Platforms, Boeing, GSK, Deutsche Boerse, Roku IncEditing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Santander to return half of profits to shareholders in 3-year strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Profitability guidance will be a positive surprise for the market ... however the company had already guided to an above 15% ROTE in 2023," Jefferies said, adding that new dividend policy had also been anticipated. As part of this plan, Santander's European region will see this metric rising to 15% from 9.28% by the end of 2022. Santander also said that it expected to improve its efficiency ratio to 42% from currently 45.8%. Its total cash dividend per share for 2022 will rise to 0.1178 euros, it said, also announcing an additional share buy-back programme of 921 million euros ($974.8 million) after obtaining regulatory authorization. ($1 = 0.9448 euros)Reporting by Jesús Aguado; additional reporting by Emma Pinedo; editing by Inti Landauro and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Santander lifts profitability goal to 15-17%, pay-out to 50% in 3-year strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The lender also unveiled in a presentation to the Spanish supervisor a new dividend pay-out policy for the period of 50% of consolidated ordinary profit, compared to the previous policy of 40%. Santander proposed a final cash dividend of 0.0595 euros per share. As a result, the total cash dividend per share for 2022 will rise to 0.1178 euros, a rise of 18% compared to 2021. It also announced an additional share buy-back programme of 921 million euros ($974.79 million) after obtaining regulatory authorization. The bank's shareholder remuneration against 2022 results would rise to 3.84 billion euros, split in equal parts in cash dividend and share buy-backs.

☆ Santander bets on Europe recovery, customers to lift profits and pay-outs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Santander has relied in the past on Latin America to cope with tough conditions for lenders in Europe since the financial crisis but banks across Europe are beginning to benefit from higher borrowing costs despite economic uncertainty. The remuneration would be in the form of cash payouts and share buybacks. This would bring Europe, the lender's main contributor to the group's profits, in line with the ROTE target seen for North America. Santander expects its cost of risk, which measures the cost of managing potential losses for the bank, to hover around 100 and 110 basis points in 2025 from an expected 120 bps this year. ($1 = 0.9448 euros)Reporting by Jesús Aguado; additional reporting by Emma Pinedo; editing by Inti Landauro and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Boom in European bank earnings hints at a rally with legs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The euro zone is expected to stagnate rather than contract, while cost of borrowing is still rising. The European Central Bank's campaign to raise interest rates as it fights to bring inflation back to its 2% target has been a boon for euro zone lenders. In the meantime, euro zone lenders' earnings per share (EPS) have surged to their highest since the global financial crisis in 2008. In the United State, where the rate cycle is more advanced, there's less potential for earnings upgrades at this point, she said. Earnings euro zone banks($1 = 0.9408 euros)Reporting by Joice Alves and additional reporting by Samuel Indyk in London; editing by Amanda Cooper and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Santander is not interested in potential acquisition of Orange Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MADRID, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) is not interested in the potential acquisition of Orange Bank (ORAN.PA), the mobile banking unit of Orange, chairman Ana Botin said on Thursday. Les Echos reported on Wednesday that French banks BNP Paribas , Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) were mulling a bid for Orange Bank. The newspaper added that Spanish bank Santander and U.S. private equity fund Cerberus were also considering a bid. "We are not interested in Orange," Botin said during the annual earnings press conference in Madrid. Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Jesus AguadoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Santander lagging behind on inflation payment for German bank staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) is the only major bank operating in Germany that has not announced a special payment to local staff to help them with soaring inflation, union officials told Reuters, although the bank said talks were ongoing. Last year, German union Verdi called on banks to give some of their lowest-earning workers a special payment to help them combat higher energy prices. "Santander is the big exception among public and private banks," said Stefan Wittmann, a Verdi official negotiating on behalf of Santander employees. On Friday, Santander and union officials agreed to take up the issue at a meeting next week, but Santander hasn't made a binding offer, Wittmann said. Santander said it was in talks with Verdi on amending its collective wage agreement, and the inflation demands came up in talks late last year.

☆ Brazilian lender Santander's Chairman Rial resigns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian lender Santander Brasil SA said on Friday its chairman and former chief executive, Sergio Rial, is resigning from his position at the firm. The resignation comes just days after Rial quit his short-lived job as chief executive of retailer Americanas SA after finding accounting "inconsistencies" that led the company to file for bankruptcy protection. Rial was Santander Brasil's CEO for six years, as well as the bank's regional head for South America, before transitioning to board chairman in early 2022. He is also chairman of the board at fuel distributor Vibra Energia SA (VBBR3.SA), vice chair at BRF SA (BRFS3.SA) and a board member at Delta Air Lines (DAL.N). Rial will be replaced on an interim basis by his vice chair, Deborah Stern Vieitas, until the bank's next general meeting on April 28.

Technology stocks (.SX8P) fell 1.8% to lead sectoral losses in Europe after their U.S. peers were dragged down by weak results from Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O). The European banking index (.SX7P) fell 0.7%. read moreItaly's UniCredit (CRDI.MI) was a rare bright spot as its shares rose 3.9% after the bank raised its 2022 profit goal. "Nonetheless, we are likely to see some hesitation, with the economic implications of rising interest rates yet to be felt. read moreReporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Saumyadeb ChakrabartyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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