MADRID, 3 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -
Ibercaja registered a net profit of 280 million euros during the first nine months of this year, which represents an increase of 68.6% compared to the same period in 2022, as reported this Friday by the banking entity, which has recorded between January and September their highest gains for this cycle since 2015.
Of note is the 57.5% increase in net interest income, which stood at 501 million euros at the end of September, due to the rise in interest rates. In this sense, the bank indicates that the profitability of the credit portfolio has reached 3.4% in the third quarter of the year, a figure that will continue to increase in the coming months due to the progressive repricing of mortgages.
On the other hand, the bank affirms that its strategy of diversifying its clients' savings towards asset management and life insurance has allowed it to maintain contained levels of the cost of retail savings. With this, the customer margin stood at 3.1% at the end of September, which implies an improvement of 172 basis points in year-on-year terms.
Net commissions for the first nine months, 331 million euros, registered a slight increase of 0.2% year-on-year. Taking into account the variation in the quarter, commissions grew by 3.3% due to the behavior of non-banking commissions. The increase in the volume of assets managed has led them to grow by 1.6%.
Thus, the evolution of recurring revenues has made it possible to compensate in the gross margin, which grew by 22.9%, up to 885 million euros, the impact of the temporary tax, which Ibercaja recorded in the first quarter of the year for 29 million euros .
On the other hand, recurring expenses have increased by 5.1% year-on-year due, mainly, to the increase in personnel costs, which have increased by 16 million euros, 6.7% year-on-year. In February, Ibercaja paid six million euros to its staff as compensation for the effects of inflation on their salaries. Excluding this impact, operating expenses increased by 3.6% year-on-year.
The evolution of these items implies a "substantial improvement" in the recurring efficiency ratio, which has now stood at 48.7%, from 60.8% in September 2022.
All of this has allowed the bank to improve its profit before provisions by 48.0% compared to that obtained at the end of the third quarter of last year, reaching 441 million euros.
Credit and foreclosed risk provisions amount to 79 million euros, 17.4% more than the same period last year, which "reinforces" its coverage ratios, placing the cost of risk at 34 basis points. In addition, the entity has provisions to cover macroeconomic uncertainties for 41.8 million euros.
Ibercaja highlights that, three months after concluding its 'Strategic Plan Challenge 2023', it "vastly" exceeds the established profitability objectives, with an adjusted ROTE of 11.0%; solvency, with a 'fully-loaded' CET1 ratio of 12.9%, and asset quality, with a ratio of 2.9%; and maintains a high LCR liquidity ratio of 199%
Likewise, the entity indicates that it has distributed 60% of the profits to its shareholder foundations, which has allowed its main shareholder, the Ibercaja Foundation, to continue increasing the reserve fund. At the end of September, this fund had 260 million euros, already representing 83% of the total amount that must be reached by the end of 2025.
CUSTOMER RESOURCES
The entity's customer resources have grown by 0.6% in these nine months of 2023, to 69,416 million euros, thanks mainly to the performance of asset management and life insurance, which grew by 4,341 million euros, a 13.7% so far this year and whose balance already represents 51.8% of total customer resources.
The entity highlights that, until the end of September, it has achieved "historic figures" in net contributions to asset management and life insurance products, 3,870 million euros, which is equivalent to all the contributions registered in the last three years.
In particular, Ibercaja's investment fund raising has been 2,947 million euros between January and September, a figure that represents 17.4% of the system's total contributions and would place it as the "leader" of the sector in this chapter. in these nine months. Thus, the bank has added 60 basis points of market share in the year, up to the historical record of 6.5%.
It also highlights that its entire range of investment funds is obtaining positive returns, accumulating an average return of 3.46% until September 30, which increased to 5.52% in the last 12 months.
On the other hand, the new production of risk life and non-life insurance premiums have overall increased by 9.6% year-on-year, with 8.2% corresponding to risk life insurance and 10.0% to No life. Likewise, the portfolio of these insurance policies grew by 4.8% in the three quarters of the year compared to the same period in 2022, up to 215 million euros, 6.4% in the case of non-life and 1.1% in the case of non-life insurance. % in life risk.
CREDIT ACTIVITY
Regarding the granting of credit, the bank highlights that loan formalizations between January and September totaled 4,549 million euros, 8.3% above the same period of the previous year.
New credit to non-real estate companies grew by 9.3%, 2,089 million euros, compared to the first nine months of last year and the formalization of new mortgages increased by 5.8% year-on-year, 1,383 million euros, which contrasts with the fall in the sector. Ibercaja explains that the increase in mortgage production is due to its "historical specialization" in this segment and the "facilities offered" to the younger population to access their first home.
The gross loan portfolio (excluding 'repos') amounts, at the end of September, to 28,493 million euros, 2.5% below the balance at the end of 2022, justified by the high increase in early repayments and lower provisions of credit that are occurring in this period in response to the rise in interest rates.
The entity points out, however, that it has increased its market share by three basis points in business credit and one basis point in mortgage credit.
Likewise, Ibercaja highlights that users of its mobile app have increased by 3.8%, to 702,000, and digital customers now represent 62.2% of the total. The sales made through its non-face-to-face channels have increased to 41.0% of the total, highlighting among them the contracting of mortgages, which represents 29% of the total, and risk insurance, which is 9%. .
EXCEED YOUR GOALS
Ibercaja highlights that the 'fully-loaded' CET1 capital ratio has increased to 12.9%, 48 basis points more than in September 2022, while the total capital ratio reached 17.6% at the end of September. In 'phased in' terms, these ratios reach 13.1% and 17.8%, respectively.
Thus, the MDA distance, which measures the excess capital compared to SREP requirements, stands at 485 basis points.
Problematic assets, which include doubtful assets and foreclosed assets, have been reduced by 3.0% so far this year, to 885 million euros. The ratio of these problematic assets remains at 2.9% and the degree of coverage stands at 77.2% as of September 30, which represents an increase of 86 basis points over the year.
Likewise, the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) was 199%, while the net stable funding ratio (NSFR) stood at 141.1% and the credit-to-deposit ratio at 85.4%.
