MADRID (Reuters) – Caixabank said on Friday its net profit rose 21% in the first quarter year on year, helped by higher interest rates on loans and a strong performance in its insurance business.
The Spanish bank reported a net profit of 855 million euros for the period from January to March, despite a cost of 373 million euros linked to a new bank tax. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected net profit of 643 million euros.
Spanish banks, including Caixabank, Sabadell, Santander and BBVA, have legally challenged the tax.
Caixabank’s net interest income rose 49% year-on-year to 2.16 billion euros in the first quarter, beating analysts’ forecasts of 2.02 billion euros.
Deposits from Caixabank’s retail customers fell 1.4% between the end of March and December, following disruptions to the banking sector caused by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last month.
(Report Jesús Aguado, French version Augustin Turpin, edited by Kate Entringer)
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