BCP with profits of 302 million. It is the best result since 2007

  • ECO News
  • 20 February 2020

The Bank led by Miguel Maya recorded profits of 302 million euros in 2019, a slight increase of 0.3% on the previous year. These are the best results in 12 years.

BCP recorded a profit of 302 million euros in 2019, which corresponds to a slight increase of 0.3% compared to 2018. These were the best results in 12 years, with the bank led by Miguel Maya surprising analysts who expected a fall in profits to 283 million.

Despite the increase, last year’s results were penalised by non-recurring costs in the Polish business, where Bank Millennium (50.01% held by BCP) acquired a bank and was also forced to create an extraordinary provision of 52 million euros due to possible losses from legal disputes related to the case of loans granted in Swiss francs.

“2019 was adverse for the financial sector. The reasons are well known as interest rates and interest rate expectations that will stay lower for longer than expected and a trade war. But there were also factors specific to the BCP,” said the CEO.

With the ECB putting pressure on the banking business, BCP still saw the financial margin (difference between interest charged and interest paid) rise 8.8% to 1,548.5 million euros, while commissions rose almost 3% to 703 million euros. After the accounts were closed, the banking income increased 7% to 2,252.0 million euros.

The bank took advantage of the increase in business volumes to counter the pressure of monetary policy. It registered an increase in credit stocks and customer resources, which amounted to 136.4 billion euros.

BCP also had capital gains of over 30 million euros from the sale of public debt, which also helped the results.

The ratio of NPE fell by 1,500 million euros across the BCP group to 4,200 million euros. The ratio of bad loans fell from 6.1% to 4.1%. “It’s a frankly positive trajectory,” noted BCP’s leader.

The bank also highlights the capital ratios in relation to regulatory requirements, with the total ratio set at 15.6%, 2.3 percentage points in relation to requirements.

As for costs, BCP registered an increase from 13.8% to 1,169 million euros, in part explained with the integration of EuroBank in Millennium Bank.

Unlike last year, BCP did not announce how much it will pay in dividends to shareholders. In 2018, the payout was 10%, which translated into dividends of around 30 million euros. The goal is to reach a 40% payout by 2021.