Santander Reports Earnings With Its First Ever Annual Loss

Spanish banking major Banco Santander reported its first annual loss in its 163 year old history. They reported a loss of €8.771bn ($10.56bn) for 2020 as against a profit of €6.515bn ($7.84bn) in 2019. Writedowns and provisions were the primary reason attributable as they totaled €13.852bn ($16.68bn). For the quarter, they reported profits excluding €1.15bn ($1.4bn) in charges for job cuts at €1.4bn ($1.7bn). Net Interest Income rose to €8.02bn ($9.65bn) in 4Q2020, a 3% rise vs the previous quarter; for the year, it was at €31.99bn ($38.5bn), down 9.3%. “Our underlying business performed solidly… Yes, it’s been a challenging year, but we have delivered solid results and we are well-placed for 2021… We will not let down our guard, but I define my view as one of realistic optimism”, said Chairman Ana Botin to Bloomberg. CET1 ratio stood at 12.34% vs 11.65% in the beginning of the year while NPL ratios dipped slightly to 3.79% in Dec 20 vs 4.18% in Dec 2019. They also mentioned they would pay a dividend of 2.75 cents per share on 2020 earnings which is less than the 10 cents approved by shareholders after the ECB’s cap. Santander’s dollar bonds were flat while their EUR bonds were marginally higher. Its EUR 5.25% Perp was at 105.28, up 0.22, yielding 3.16%

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