A total of 13 banks operating in Spain posted net losses in the first half of 2021. This is compared to 15 entities that recorded ‘red numbers’ in the same period of the previous year, according to the financial statements of banks published on Friday by the Bank of Spain.
In the first half of the year, ten banks associated with the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), one of the Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks (CECA) and two branches of foreign credit institutions outside the EU lost money. Liberbank presented the highest negative numbers, -50.33 million, followed by WiZink (-25 million), Evo Banco (-10.59 million), Targobank (-8.77 million), Wealthprivat Bank -formerly called Bank Degroof Petercam Spain- (-7.18 million) and Singular Bank (-6.26 million).
Credit Suisse AG S.E. (-5.16 million), JP Morgan Chase Bank S.E. (-3.25 million), Andbank España (-2.24 million), Banco Pichincha (-1.63 million), Banco Europeo de Finanzas (-136,000), Banco de Depósitos (-69,000) and Banco Alcalá (-39,000) also recorded losses in the six months to June.
These thirteen institutions posted a combined loss of 120.65 million euros in the first half of the year. In the same period last year, marked by heavy provisions in the wake of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, fifteen banks posted losses of 8,621 million euros, with Santander and BBVA accounting for the largest losses.
The banks which showed a positive result a year ago and have suffered net losses in the first half of the year are WiZink, Evo Banco, Banco Alcalá and Credit Suisse AG.
In contrast, Santander, BBVA, Nuevo Micro Bank, Banco Industrial de Bilbao, Ibercaja Banco and CaixaBank, which a year ago were amongst the institutions that lost money in Spain, abandoned the ‘red numbers’ and achieved profits in the first half of 2021.
