Bankinter's Q2 net profit dips slightly on lower lending income (updated)

BANKINTER

24/07/2025 07:13

Q2 net interest income falls 4% y/y but up 4% q/q

Sees NII flat in 2025, sticks to 1 bln profit this year

Q2 fees and loans rise 9% and 6% respectively y/y

Bankinter shares surge 6% to a record high

Leads on beating forecasts and outlook for NII

By Jesús Aguado

MADRID, July 24 (Reuters) - Spain's Bankinter BKT.MC beat second-quarter profit forecasts on Thursday thanks to higher fees and loans, offsetting a decline in lending income.

    Spain's fifth-biggest lender by market value said it expects lending income to be flat for the year as a whole, indicating a slight recovery in the second half.

Bankinter's shares jumped 6% to a record high by 1011 GMT. They have now rallied 60% this year, reflecting the lender's position as one of Spain's most profitable banks.

While the bank's second-quarter profit slipped amid difficult market conditions, it was higher than analysts expected and first half-net profit jumped 14% to 542 million euros ($637.01 million).

That resulted in a return-on-tangible equity ratio (ROTE) of 19.5%, among the highest at Spanish lenders, up from 18.8% in the first half of 2024.

Bankinter had also beaten profit forecasts in the first quarter.

Spanish banks are mainly retail lenders and have benefited from higher costs of loans tied mostly to variable rates. However, recent reductions in European Central Bank interest rates are squeezing margins.

In the second quarter, Bankinter's net interest income, or earnings on loans minus deposit costs, fell 4% year-on-year to 560 million euros, above analysts' forecasts of 548 million.

Against the previous quarter, however, NII rose 4% helped by strong commercial activity, with net fees and commissions rising 9%, while loans were up 6%.

Net profit still fell 0.4% to 272 million euros due to pressure from lower rates, despite beating estimates of 258 million euros.

Chief Executive Gloria Ortiz said the bank maintained its forecast for a net profit of around 1 billion euros for 2025.

Chief Financial Officer Jacobo Diaz told analysts that the bank expected lending income to remain "flattish", removing from its outlook the slightly positive guidance for 2025 after recent declines in interest rates.

However, he said that deposit costs were under control, one of the reasons for lending income still holding up.

Bankinter's customer spread held up, declining only slightly to 2.73% from 2.74% in the previous quarter, as yields on loans declined by 24 basis points, while deposit costs fell 23 bps.

($1 = 0.8508 euros)

 (Reporting by Jesús Aguado; additional by Emma Pinedo; editing by Inti Landauro, David Latona and Susan Fenton)

 ((jesus.aguado@thomsonreuters.com; +34 91 835 68 32; Reuters Messaging: Reuters Messaging: jesus.aguado.reuters.com@reuters.net))