Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron was victorious over right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen in yesterday’s French general election, winning 23.9% of vote versus her 21.4%. These results practically guarantee his being elected as the country’s new President in the second round in two weeks time.
Spanish banks registered net profit of 7.987 billion euros in 2016, 23.1% less than a year earlier, according to data provided on Thursday by the Spanish Banking Association. These results were affected by special temporary and specific factors in 2016, without which earnings would have been 12% higher than in 2015.
The certainty that we are on the threshold of a phase of consistent interest rate rises – the Fed could implement two or three further hikes this year – is spurring the European banks to endow themselves with liquidity from the ECB, at low prices.
The Eurozone is showing positive signs of growth and inflation. But the risk premium levels of the peripheral countries are still very high compared with those at the start of this year. In the short-term, they will move to the political beat, particularly any news on the French election.
J.L. M. Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) Cash or credit card? Make a transfer? Or perhaps use another digital payment method? For example, using your mobile pone, like with Bizum. According to the Bank of Spain, payment by credit card has grown at double digit rates of over 10% in the last few months. The amount of cash taken from dispensers has also increased, although at a more moderate rate at around 3%.
The volume of M&A in the European banking sector has gone from 39 billion euros in 2008 to scarcely 9.5 billion in 2015. And in the first half of last year, it was little over 1 billion euros. Why has there not been more consolidation in the sector? It’s an important question for the European authorities who want to promote banking union to answer.
The Spanish banking sector’s stock market rally has been suddenly cut short. The listed banks’ index had risen over 45% since the minimum levels of June 2016 until the first week of January. But since then, it is seeing a correction. Two matters of concern for investors are the impact of the floor clauses ruling on the banks profit and loss account, as well as the problems of the Italian banks.
Just minutes after the the EU ruling on ‘floor clauses’ was released, the banks in Spain’s blue-chip Ibex 35 index ended up dropping over 10%. But most of the lenders recovered ground by the end of the session. Afi estimates the ruling will affect the banking sector as a whole to the tune of some 4.5 billion euros.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Spanish banks have to return all the extra money they charged clients affected by the ‘floor clauses’ included in their mortgage contracts. The court has rejected the idea of a time-limited retroactive effect because it is “incomplete and insufficient”.
Banco Santander has delivered €4.606 BN in attributable profits for the first nine months of 2016, down 22.5% from the same period in 2015 due to the impact of extraordinary items announced in Q2 of this year and Q2 of 2015. Excluding extraordinary items and exchange rate movements, profits grew by 8% year on year to €4.975 BN.