By Jesús Aguado
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s BBVA on Thursday said its first quarter net profit rose 39.4% from the same quarter in 2022 thanks to a solid performance in Mexico, its main market, which offset the impact from a banking tax in Spain.
The lender booked a net profit of 1.85 billion euros ($2.04 billion) in the January to March period, more than the 1.66 billion euros forecast by analysts polled by Reuters despite a charge of 225 million euros from the levy.
Banks across Europe benefit from soaring interest rates despite economic uncertainty and BBVA’s net interest income (NII), earnings on loans minus deposit costs, rose 43% year-on-year to 5.6 billion euros in the quarter, in line with analysts’ forecasts.
Like larger rival Santander, BBVA has been expanding in emerging economies, such as Mexico, where it has seen greater opportunities for growth as it struggled to boost income in more mature markets when rates hovered around ultra-low levels.
In Mexico, net profit rose 65%, while income from lending increased by 48%.
($1 = 0.9049 euros)
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado, editing by Inti Landauro)
