Santander bank posted increased third-quarter net profits today and said it was on track for record full-year profit despite an abrupt economic slowdown at home and global financial turbulance.
The euro zone's biggest bank by market capitalisation said its net profit in the July-September period rose to €2.2 billion, a 4.3% increase from the equivalent figure last year on the back of increased profit in Latin America.
The result was just slightly below analysts' expectations and it brought the bank's total net profit for the first nine months of the year to €6.93 billion, a 5.5% increase over the same year-ago period.
Santander's CEO Alfredo Saenz said that the bank was on track to meet its forecast of a record net profit of €10 billion in 2008. It posted a record net profit of €9.03 billion in 2007.
Santander, in line with some other Spanish banks, has not been so exposed to complex financial instruments which have hit many banks hard because it had a low-risk expansion strategy.
In addition, banking regulations there are conservative. Its solid financial position has allowed it to buy three troubled banks over the past three months.
Santander bought Alliance and Leicester in Britain, as well as the branches and deposits of the nationalised Bradford and Bingley, and has agreed to take over Sovereign Bancorp in the US.
The bank said its bad loans ratio rose to 1.63% at the end of September from 0.89% a year ago. Saenz predicted it would reach 1.9% at the end of the year.
