Fernando Rodríguez | Analysts who study banking stocks every day do not seem to pay much attention to the factors which condition the systemic banks. In general, they feel that whether a bank is systemic or not should not influence its stock market performance or its dividend policy. It should not be the only criteria for investing in a bank.
Banco Santander registered attributable profit of EUR 2.911 billion in the first half of 2016, a 32% decrease compared to the same period of 2015. This decline is affected by one-offs and the depreciation against the euro of the currencies of the main countries where the Group is present.
Out of the 33 banks subjected to the Federal Reserve’s stress tests, 31 have passed this year, which means they will be able to increase their dividends and share buybacks. On the other hand, Deutsche Bank and Banco Santander failed the tests due to the Fed’s doubts about their capacity to measure risk.
Ofelia Marín-Lozano | All the banks have seen a sharp decline in their profitability compared with a decade ago. This is partly due to the heavy provisions made to offset the impact of the property crisis (over 300 billion euros in accumulated terms). But it is also the result of the decrease in pre-provisions operating profit and the requirement for the lenders to raise their capital in line with assets.
Fernando Rodríguez | Spain’s big banks BBVA, Santander and Banco Popular have recently announced they will gradually reduce their branch network. What is the significance of this move? Norbolsa analyst Nagore Diez Cerceda offers us some opinions.
Banco Santander S.A. (SAN) stock reached year maximums (+2.5% to €4.69) after the bank reported its Q1 results on Wednesday. Despite a 5% net profit decline in Q1 to €1.63bn (mostly due to the depreciation of various currencies against the euro), Spain’s largest bank by market value beat expectations.
Banco Santander’s Group executive chairman, Ana Botín, today chaired the Bank ́s Annual General Meeting which approved the 2015 accounts. Botín stressed that despite “a more difficult environment than expected, results were good”.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has allowed Banco Santander to apply its own capital calculation model for its Brazilian subsidiary. The approval arrived seven days after Santander presented its 2015 results, so they don’t reflect the effect of the new measure.
Regardless of the disappointments, the one-off items, a few little surprises and all kinds of explanations regarding their earnings and provisions, the so-called big banks’ results are what they are. And none of them have anything to celebrate. They remain vulnerable and unable to reach cruising speed.