Banco Popular’s profits plunge
Spanish bank Popular’s first-half profit fell by a fifth due to the continued slowdown in its core bank business and lower one-time gains, it revealed yesterday.
Bad loans as a percentage of the total loan book rose to 5.04 per cent at the end of June from 4.91 per cent at the end of March, while total provisions against bad loans declined 13.9 per cent from a year earlier due to a 63.2 per cent fall in new bad loan adds. Popular said it expects new bad loans – and consequently the amount it will need to set aside for provisions – to continue to decline over the coming quarters. First-half net profit fell to €354.6m (£295.7m), missing forecasts for €358.4m in a Reuters poll of banks and brokers. Interest revenue fell 9.3 per cent to €1.29bn in the first half.