Robert Firth
BREXIT has made a dent in the profits of Spanish bank Santander.
The Spanish bank recorded a 35% drop in its net profits during the first nine months of the year, after its British subsidiary’s profits fell 19%.
Spain’s largest bank recorded a net profit of €3,732 million between January and September, while its British arm earned €828 million.
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Difficulties in the UK were offset by a 19% increase in profits in Brazil, where the Spanish bank earned €2,249 million. The bank’s Brazilian arm remains its most profitable subsidiary.
The company’s American division witnessed the biggest leap in profits, seeing them rise to €619 million, an increase of 27%.
Profits were also up significantly in Mexico, which saw a 14% rise to €659 million and in Portugal where profits surged 12% to €385 million.
The company’s Spanish wing remains its second most profitable division, seeing profits rise by 3% to €1.185 million.
Ana Botin, the group’s president, said that the company had maintained ‘good trends’ despite a difficult business environment.
She said: “We have achieved the figures thanks to the strength of our business model and our new regional organization structure announced in April.”
Botin added that diversifying into both European and American markets had helped Santander distinguish itself from competitors.
The bank has added six million customers in the last twelve months and already serves 144 million people worldwide.
