BBVA obtained a profit of 6,420 million euros, representing an increase of 38% over the previous year and the best result in its history. The result would have been higher, 6,621 million, if 201 million were not included for the purchase of offices in Spain from Merlin and 461 million for uninterrupted operations in the United States.
After the improvement in profit, the bank has decided to distribute 47% of the profits among the shareholders, which is equivalent to 43 cents per share, 39% more than the remuneration charged to the 2021 financial year. It will dedicate more than 3,000 million euros to dividends and the repurchase of shares for 442 million.
The previous year, it distributed 44% of the profit among the shareholders, so now it will raise this percentage. Its remuneration policy consists of devoting between 40% and 50% of the profit to dividends each year. This improvement occurs at a time when the Government criticizes the benefits of banks and energy companies, which it has just imposed a new tax that, at an accounting level, companies will not compute until 2023.
Interest margins stood at 19,153 million, 35% more, while income from commissions amounted to 5,353 million, 15% more, thanks to the increased activity and the rise in interest rates. Both variables "continue to show an excellent evolution, which reflects the good behavior of the activity and the improvement in the customer differential, favored by a more favorable rate environment," says the bank.
Operating expenses increased by 12.9%, a percentage that the bank sees as positive because, it says, it is below average inflation in the countries in which it operates. The financial return, or ROE, stood at 14.6%, while the quality of capital, the CET1, was 12.61%, above the ECB's requirements.
The bank addressed 12% higher provisions for impairment of financial assets to cover risks in South America and Turkey, while the number of loans and advances to customers registered growth of 12.3%, encouraged by the increase in activity economic and the search for financing by customers.
The business in Spain generated a result of 1,678 million euros, 8.4% above the result achieved in the previous year. BBVA attributes the improvement to the dynamism of the interest income and the higher result from financial operations, as well as lower operating expenses and provisions.
The bank indicates that last year it made "great strides in its strategy." It captured more than 11 million new customers and increased its sales through digital channels, which already represent almost 80% of the total. Mobile customers already account for 47.4 million, compared to the 18 million that the entity had in 2017. Digital sales have gone from 40% to 78% of the total in five years, in units sold.
The president of the bank, Carlos Torres Vila, highlighted the strategic advances during the year related to "digitization, innovation and sustainability". The default rate still does not reflect the rise in interest rates and stood at 3.4% at the end of the year, compared to the 4.1% registered a year earlier. In Spain, it was 3.9%.
By 2023, the forecast is that recurring revenues will grow close to 25%. BBVA will take the opportunity to focus on the most profitable segments of its business while waiting for an increase in expenses in line with inflation.
In Spain, he expects credit to remain "practically flat" and interest income to continue to grow strongly, with increases slightly above 20%. Net fee income will experience "slight growth," he says.
