Madrid (EFE).- Banco Santander obtained a record attributable profit of 9,605 million euros in 2022, 18% more than the previous year, thanks to the growth of commercial activity, the quality of the assets and the control of the costs, the entity has informed the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
The main margins of the income statement registered double-digit increases, especially interest, which reflects most of the income, and stood at 38,619 million euros, 15.7% more, while the gross margin, which adds commissions, added 52,117 million and improved by 12.3% year-on-year.
These results allowed the entity to improve its return on equity (ROTE) to 13.4%, thereby exceeding the target of 13% that had been set.
The geographical diversification of the Santander Group was once again one of the keys to achieving these benefits, especially in Europe, South America and Digital Consumer Bank.
Europe contributed 33% of the global profit, while North America contributed 25%; South America, 31% and Digital Consumer, 11%.
The group’s solvency, measured by the CET1 “fully loaded” top-quality capital ratio, stood at 12.04%, in line with targets, but slightly worse than the 12.12% a year ago.
Total customer resources increased by 8.8%, to 1.15 trillion euros, driven by deposits, which grew by 11.7%, to 918,344 million.
Loans and advances granted to customers grew by 6.5%, up to 1.03 trillion, partly thanks to the dynamism of mortgages and consumer credit, which increased by 7%.
Credit delinquency improved by eight points in 2022 and stood at 3.08%, mainly due to the good evolution of the European area and the consumer business. The percentage of the portfolio covered against possible insolvencies was 68%.
In this way, the cost of risk, that is, what the bank allocates to provisions based on the expected loss of the portfolio, increased to 0.99%, “in line with its objectives”, due to the increase of 31 % of provisions compared to 2021, when the bank released provisions in some countries.
By geographical areas, Europe obtained a joint profit of 3,810 million euros, 38% more than in 2021, “thanks to an increase in interest income, improvements in efficiency and a stable cost of risk.” In Spain, the entity earned 1,560 million, 149% more.
The Santander Group closed 2022 with 160 million customers, 7 million more than the previous year, of which 27 million are linked, 8% more, while 51 million are digital, which also grew 8%. 55% of sales and 80% of transactions were made through digital channels.
Botín: “Inflation is a cancer that must be stopped”
The president of Banco Santander, Ana Botín, said this Thursday that inflation “is a cancer that must be stopped”, because it weighs down growth and especially affects the most vulnerable households, so the priority (of governments) should be be lower it
In addition, in the specific case of Spain and asked about the criticism of the second vice president of the Government, Yolanda Díaz, to the bank, Botín has warned that “unemployment is the responsibility of the Government” and the best way to stop it is to encourage the companies invest and banks can finance that growth.
In a press conference to present the 2022 accounts, the first in which the new CEO, Héctor Grisi, has intervened, Botín explained that although it seems clear that inflation has peaked in some countries, it is still “not defeated”. .
The great challenge for Spain and Europe, in his opinion, is economic growth, and “we all want it to be sustainable and inclusive”, but Botín has insisted that for economies to grow, capital must be attracted and compete with other countries.
The way to progress is to create jobs. “What we businessmen want is to create jobs, investment and pay taxes,” he added, before specifying that these should be based on profits and not income, like the new tax promoted by the Government.
This extraordinary rate will cost Banco Santander about 230 million this year, Botín said, who also said that the group is analyzing the possibility of appealing it.
In any case, Santander’s top executive has agreed that “Governments have to collect” to contribute to the welfare society, but “everyone has to pay, not just banks”, and recalled that Santander paid in 2022 more than 30% of its benefits in taxes.
Collaboration with the executive
Botín wanted to take advantage of the occasion to say “very clearly” that a country progresses more when when it comes to taking far-reaching measures, consensus is reached and businessmen and the financial sector are listened to. As an example, he cited the agreement reached in November to alleviate the mortgage burden of the families most affected by the rise in the Euribor.
And given the United We Can proposal to freeze mortgages, the president of Santander has warned of the consequences that this could have, citing the example of Mexico, where in the past loans were forgiven and what was achieved is that for more than twenty years the mortgage market was closed.
On the other hand, given the rise in interest rates, Botín has considered that we must “be prepared to live with higher interest rates” and has opened the door to remunerating savings in the near future.
“At some point we are going to remunerate the savings”, although he has specified that it will depend on the competition, while stressing that the bank never charged its clients when the ECB rates were negative, unlike what happened in other countries.
Belarra describes Santander’s benefits as “absolutely impudent”
The leader of Podemos and Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, has charged Banco Santander after making public this Thursday the 18% increase in its benefits, which she has described as “absolutely impudent.”
Since it can no longer be said that these “billionaires” benefits are “ruthless capitalism”, she has ironized after being censured for her comments about Mercadona, Belarra has used other adjectives to criticize Santander after learning that it obtained a record attributable profit of 9,605 million euros in 2022, 18% more than the previous year.
Above all, he recalled, taking into account that the banks have not yet returned the bank bailout from which all the large entities benefited “directly or indirectly”, he pointed out in statements to the media in Camarma de Esteruelas (Madrid).
He has taken advantage of the situation to demand that the Government cap variable-rate mortgages because at this time “it is an emergency,” he stressed.