The positive market dynamics, together with the strategies derived from the integration with Bankia and the reduction of doubtful balances, have boosted CaixaBank’s profit to €2,137 million, up 35.8% compared to the €1,573 million recorded in the same period of the previous year. In the entity’s accounts, the improvement in the indicators of profitability and efficiency stand out, while ROE reached 10.2% and the recurrent efficiency ratio fell to 45.7%, the increase in gross income was 23.1%, despite the decline in banking fees and commissions.
Core revenues grew 31.3% year-on-year in the first half to EUR 7,110 million. Net interest income was 55.2% higher year-on-year at EUR 4,624 million.
The growth in net interest income, together with the improvement in the result of insurance services (+18.5%) and income from Bancaseguros investees (+59.2%), offset the 4.2% fall in fee income.
In the first half of the year, CaixaBank managed to increase customer funds to €627,824 million at June 30, up 2.7% year-on-year. Assets under management amounted to €156,111 million (+5.5% in the year) due to the favourable performance of the markets and positive net subscriptions.
Sustained growth in the corporate lending portfolio (+2.2%) and the good performance of consumer credit (+1.2%) offset the greater deleveraging in lending for house purchases, with a 2.6% reduction in the portfolio. New lending in the first half of the year amounted to €21,026 million in new loans to companies, €5,172 million in consumer credit and €4,654 million in mortgages.
Non-performing loans fell again and stood at 2.6% at June 30, the best figure in the last 15 years (compared to 2.7% in the previous quarter and 3.2% a year earlier) and well below the sector’s average. Non-performing loans declined to €10,317 million. Loan-loss provisions amounted to €7,880 million at the end of June 2023 and the coverage ratio increased to 76%.
The Group’s Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) at June 30 was 207%, showing a comfortable liquidity position. As regards capital, the CET1 ratio was 12.5%.
This solid result, said Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO, “is the result of the good performance of commercial activity, as well as prudent management of credit risk, and puts our return on equity at 10% after a long period of very low returns.”
