Santander: third-quarter profit up on loan growth

(CercleFinance.com) - Santander, the euro zone's fourth biggest bank, said third-quarter net profit rose by 36%, helped by higher lending and customer deposits.


In this quarter, attributable profit reached 1.99 billion euros, while pre-tax profit rose 17% year-on-year in constant euros, to 3.75 billion euros.

The bank said it has attracted another 3.1 million customers over the last twelve months, with the number of customers using digital services increasing 24% year-on-year to 29.9 million.

Santander's nine-month net profit grew by 13% to 5.7 billion euros, while gross income for the first nine months increased by 9% in constant euros to 35.8 billion euros.

The group said the economic outlook remains positive and expects to benefit from rising interest rates, and the ongoing recovery in Latin America.

Santander shares, which fell over 20% in 2018, were up 3.6% at 4.25 euros after these results, outperforming the broader European banking index.

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