BBVA, a leading Spanish bank, has announced its first-quarter results for 2024, showing a profit of €2.2 billion, an impressive increase of 19.1% from the previous year. The growth is attributed to increased income, particularly in Spain and Mexico’s interest margins. The stock market responded positively to these figures with a nearly 1% rise in early trading.
BBVA has continued to maintain its growth trajectory after a successful year driven by interest rate increases. The group’s activity, as evidenced by the 9.5% increase in credit to customers, has contributed significantly to this growth. In the first quarter of 2024, the interest margin increased by 15.4%, while net commissions rose by 31.1%. Despite some slowing in profit growth compared to last year, BBVA is still on track to surpass its record profits from the previous year.
Operational expenses rose by 12.2%, reflecting inflationary pressures in markets where BBVA operates globally. However, these costs increased at a slower rate than income, resulting in an improved efficiency ratio of 41.2%. The group also saw improvements in profitability metrics such as return on equity (ROE) and return on tangible capital (ROTE).
By territory, Mexico remains the largest contributor to BBVA’s profits, followed by Spain and Türkiye. Mexico saw a 12.6% increase in profits, while Spain experienced a massive growth of 36.5%. Türkiye faced challenges due to inflation and currency exchange effects but still contributed positively to BBVA’s performance overall.
Overall, BBVA’s strong performance in Q1 reflects its resilience and strategic focus on key markets worldwide. The bank remains optimistic about its future prospects and aims to build on its successes over the coming months.
In conclusion, BBVA has reported an impressive financial performance for Q1 of €2 billion euros with an increase of €400 million compared with Q4 of last year and an improvement of €800 million compared with Q1 last year due to increased income especially from Spain and Mexico’s interest margins.
