Spanish banking giant Santander posted a 5.7% rise in third quarter net profit today, beating market expectations as its results were boosted by last year's acquisition of British mortgage lender Abbey.
The bank yesterday bought a $2.4 billion stake in US bank Sovereign Bancorp just a year after buying Abbey. The British unit contributed €492m to profit in the nine month period.
Santander reported net profit of €3.88 billion, up from €3.67 billion in the nine month period last year and just ahead of an average analyst forecast.
Santander said net interest income rose to €7.76 billion. It said it aimed to grow Abbey's revenue by 5-10% annually over the next three years.
