With the end of October also ends the presentation of the results of the third quarter of the year of Spanish banks, which had as its main point of interest that it represented the first period in which interest rates were going to be lower. or equal to those of the previous year. Despite this, the sector’s figures in Spain continued to demonstrate solidity and The proof is its shareholder remuneration policy.
After the latest adjustments in its upcoming installments, analysts’ consensus estimates collected Bloomberg points to an average sector profitability of 6.8% despite the strong revaluation of its components on the stock market over the last two years. With this, the bank will continue pulling the increase in attractive shareholder remuneration offered by the Ibex 35 itself, which will remain, according to these same calculations, at 4.6%, 2.2 percentage points below. However, by 2025, these yields are expected to converge and the gap will remain at 1.8 points, which is still well above last year’s gap of just 1 point.
The first to present its results was, as usual, Bankinter. The company noted the decline in the interest margin and the increase in the cost of deposits but was confident for 2025 thanks to the increase in net commissions, the reduction in the cost of deposits and the good performance of volumes , which made it possible to maintain its dividend policy intact. , which ensures yields close to 7%.
Already this week, Santander revealed its accounts, with a margin lower than expected but offset by lower operating expenses and provisions, which made it possible to achieve a record net profit. Like Bankinter, the Cantabrians maintain their objectives and, therefore, will continue to offer the lowest dividend yield in the years to come. However, if we include the share buybacks forecast by analysts, Total profitability increases and exceeds 9%.
At the end of the week, the rest of the results cascaded. In the case of Unicaja, which defends highest dividend yield this yearclose to 10% without counting buybacks, met expectations in all its businesses. The Malaga company has recorded almost 30% on the stock market this year and has additional potential of almost 25%.
Thursday, it was the turn of the three other financial companies. BBVA, which is remembered for being immersed in a takeover bid for Sabadell, has also relied on lower provisions and more commissions to exceed net profit forecasts, in addition to its international activities. To the profitability of 7.8% estimated for the year of its dividend, almost 6 additional points should be added in share buybacks, which places it in first place. the bank with the highest total return of the sector in Spain.
The Catalan company, for its part, also recorded record profits during this quarter, far exceeding experts’ estimates. Thus, they maintain their growth targets at mid-digit interest margin for 2024 and a little more for 2025. But above all they exceeded expectations in terms of capital, which could result in a further improvement in the dividend since its policy is to distribute the surplus over 13%. It should be remembered that BBVA adjusted the share exchange to the latest dividends paid by the two entities.
Finally, CaixaBank, which until recently was the group with the highest dividend in the Spanish banking sector, continues to pay a yield of 8% despite the very strong stock market increase accumulated in recent months. In its results, in which it improved its forecasts, it announced the dividend it will pay next week, which will be 0.148 euros, and approved a new buyback program of 500 million euros. “This announcement came earlier than expected and the dividend is higher than expected,” says Citi.
