Lisbon, May 23, 2025 (Lusa) - The five largest banks operating in Portugal recorded aggregate profits of €1.218 billion in March, down 0.5% on the same period last year.
Thus, the profits of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), Santander Totta, Millennium BCP, Novo Banco and BPI fell by €6.5 million in the first quarter, compared to the accumulated total for the first three months of last year.
The evolution of the financial margin, which refers to the difference between interest earned on loans and interest paid on deposits, continued to contribute to these results, totalling €2,213.3 million in these five banks in the first three months.
Year-on-year, however, the decline was 7.7% (€184.6 million).
Of the five banks analysed, only two achieved profits above those recorded a year earlier: BPI and BCP, while the others posted lower net results.
The warning of a slowdown or reversal in profit growth had already been announced by industry leaders, as key interest rates, which had risen sharply in recent years, began to be reduced by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Monetary policy to control inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic, aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ultimately fulfilled its purpose. According to Eurostat, the rate measuring consumer price variation remained at 2.2% in April, close to the 2% target.
Now, with interest rates easing, financial margins have mirrored this trend, falling in four of the five banks - the exception being BCP.
By entity, CGD had the highest profits, at €392.5 million, but it was down0.5%, not escaping the 11.2% decline in its financial margin (€ 636.3 million).
Among private banks, Santander Totta posted the highest profits since the beginning of the year, with net income of €268.8 million.
The bank led by Pedro Castro e Almeida recorded an 8.7% year-on-year decline in profits in a quarter in which net interest income contracted by 19.6% to €354.2 million.
Millennium BCP's profits rose 3.9% to €243.5 million, almost in line with the rise in net interest income (3.6% to €721.1 million).
On the podium of private banks in Portugal, Novo Banco made a profit of €177.2 million despite a 1.9% year-on-year drop.
The bank owned by the US fund Lone Star, in which the Portuguese state has a 25% direct and indirect stake, saw its net interest income fall by 6.7% to €279.1 million.
Finally, BPI, which had the lowest profits among the five - €136.6 million - nevertheless posted the highest year-on-year growth, at 12.6%. In the period under review, and in year-on-year terms, the financial margin of the Spanish group Caixabank fell by 9.4%.
Regarding employees and branches, the five largest banks in Portugal had 25,460 employees and 2,203 branches nationwide. Year-on-year, this represents a decrease of 136 employees and 16 branches, a reversed number of employees compared to the end of 2024 (+151, but two fewer branches).
At the end of March, Millennium BCP had the most employees (6,229), followed by CGD (6,033), Santander (4,682), BPI (4,303), and Novo Banco (4,213).
At the end of December 2024, only CGD reduced its number of employees (-34) compared to the previous quarter, with the others increasing, notably Santander Totta and BPI, which had 72 and 69 more employees, respectively.
In terms of branches, BPI (303), Novo Banco (290) and CGD (886) maintained the number of branches in their chains, while Millennium BCP and Santander Totta reduced their numbers by one each, to 397 and 327.
JO/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
