The six major Spanish banks, Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell, Bankinter and Unicaja Banco, Between them they earned almost 20.6 billion euros until September, which would constitute a new record and 4.2% more than a year earlier, according to analyst forecasts collected by EFE.
These results, which would total exactly 20,593.7 million euros, would represent new impetus for the sector, currently awaiting BBVA’s public purchase offer for Banco Sabadell, which could take further steps in the coming months when the Spanish competition (CNMC) and market (CNMV) monitoring authorities publish their reports.
The accounts, which include the payment of almost 1.5 billion euros of the extraordinary tax designed by the government for banks and electricity companies, will also very likely suffer from the fall in interest rates in the euro zone, in the form of lower income, in particular due to variable loans and mortgages whose maturities have been reviewed, some half-yearly and others annually.
In the first half, these same entities made a joint profit of 15,287 million euros, 28% more and also a record, to which must be added the 5.306 million earned in the stagnant third quarter, according to the calculations of the analysts consulted.
Of this amount, 16.157 million euros would come from Santander and BBVA, the two major Spanish banks with the most international presence.
The first to reveal its quarterly figures will be Bankinter, as usual, and will do so on October 24, with a net profit of just over 256 million, according to forecasts, to the 473.5 million earned between January and June, approximately 730 million euros are added, or 6.5% more.
The next will be Banco Santander, which will publish its accounts on October 29 and analysts estimate that it will collect a net profit of just over 8.866 million euros, also higher than the 8.143 million in the same period of the previous year .
On October 30, it will be the turn of Unicaja Banco, which will generate a profit of 446.3 million, 56.5% more than last year on the same dates.
The three remaining entities, CaixaBank, BBVA and Banco Sabadell will coincide on October 31 the last two were involved in a hostile takeover bid by BBVA for Sabadell, a very rare phenomenon in the Spanish market and which could take months to resolve.
CaixaBank, protagonist with Bankia of the last major merger of the Spanish sector, in 2021, will earn, according to analysts, around 4.122 million, compared to 3.659 million the previous year.
BBVA, which launched a public takeover bid for Sabadell at the beginning of May, could earn around 7.3 billion, above the 5.961 million in the same period of 2023.
The operation took a turn on October 1 when BBVA updates its offer to Banco Sabadell shareholders so that they attend the public purchase offer, consisting of a proposal to pay 0.29 euros in cash and one new share of the group for each 5.019 of Sabadell.
Until this moment, BBVA’s offer was one new share of the purchasing bank for each 4.83 of Sabadell, provided that its holders accept the proposal to sell the securities, although the entity had already warned that it could adjust the terms if Sabadell distributed a dividend, as it did on October 1, paying 0.08 euros per share to its shareholders.
Finally, According to analysts, Banco Sabadell would have obtained a net profit of 1,208.4 million, above the 1,028 million with which it closed the third quarter of 2023.
The top leaders of both entities have appeared in the media more frequently than ever in recent months, each with their own message: BBVA explains the advantages of the public purchase offer and Sabadell insisting again and again that they see no point in it and would rather continue alone.
And behind everything, as always, money, especially the lucrative business of SMEs, one of the strong points of Sabadell and one of the areas that BBVA wishes to strengthen, according to market sources. EFECOM
