Six of Spain’s leading banks — Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Bankinter, Sabadell, and Unicaja — have published their first-quarter results, showing profits that keep climbing. Collectively, they posted earnings of 6.566 billion euros, up 15.3% from the same period in 2023, a year when the broader sector set records. Alongside these gains, the sector faced a payment of 1.4786 billion euros in bank taxes.
This steady growth in earnings follows a sequence of interest-rate hikes driven by the European Central Bank since mid-2021 in response to a persistent inflation trend. Although rates looked stable in April, the central bank signaled it could trim the cost of money in June, potentially marking the first such cut since September 2019.
Banks’ numbers also reflect the impact of the government’s one-off tax on the financial sector, a levy expected to reach 1.4 billion euros this year. CaixaBank stands out with a net attributable profit of 1.005 billion euros in the quarter, up 17.5%. The lender remitted 1.135 billion euros in taxes in the period, of which 492 million came from the bank tax. Executive comments from CaixaBank emphasize that the tax burden currently exceeds the quarterly profit, and the bank’s leadership notes the balance sheet has nearly reached the trillion-euro mark in business volume.
BBVA also delivered notable growth, reporting a 19.1% increase and a forecast of two more years of record results. The bank earned 2.2 billion euros in January through March, despite paying 285 million euros for the bank tax. This rise, about 36%, drew criticism from BBVA’s chief executive for limiting the banks’ capacity to channel investment, underscoring ongoing policy debates around tax policy and capital allocation.
Santander remains the largest winner among the group, posting 2.852 billion euros in profit — up 11% year over year. The firm attributes the surge to a strong expansion in net interest income across all businesses and regions, with margins up 16% as a driver of performance.
Sabadell, Bankinter and Unicaja
Following the trio, Sabadell posted a substantial 50% year-on-year gain to 308.5 million euros in earnings, from 205 million a year earlier. The bank is among those signaling a return to higher profits in 2024 after a year of record results. Sabadell’s performance echoes a longer-term run of strong results since its founding in 1881, highlighting resilience in a tightening, high-rate regime.
Bankinter and Unicaja followed, with Bankinter reporting 201 million euros in profit through March, up 9%, and tax payments of 95 million for the bank levy, versus 77 million the prior year. Its gross margin rose about 7%, reaching 659 million euros in total income. Unicaja stood out as well, tripling quarterly profits to 111 million euros. All margins in its income statement expanded in double digits, with a 32.3% rise in net interest margin. The bank tax contributed a 78.6 million euro outlay, underscoring the tax environment’s impact on quarterly results.
Across the sector, the picture suggests a continuing revenue recovery supported by higher rates, even as banks navigate policy changes and tax costs. Analysts and bankers alike will be watching how potential monetary policy shifts and tax reform proposals might shape lending, investment, and profitability in the quarters ahead. This dynamic is being watched closely by markets in North America as global financial conditions influence cross-border lending and capital flows.