The profits of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), Santander Totta, Millennium BCP, Novo Banco, and BPI have decreased by 6.5 million euros in the first quarter compared with the total from the first three months of last year.
The results continued to be influenced by the evolution of the financial margin, which pertains to the difference between the interest charged on loans and the interest paid on deposits, totaling 2,213.3 million euros in the first three months among these five banks.
Year-on-year, however, there was a decline of 7.7% (184.6 million euros).
Out of the five banks analyzed, only two posted higher profits than a year earlier: BPI and BCP, while the others reported lower net results.
Warnings regarding a slowdown or reversal in profit growth had already been signaled by industry leaders, as central interest rates, which had seen significant hikes in recent years, began to be reduced as dictated by the European Central Bank (ECB).
The monetary policy aimed at controlling inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic, further exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, successfully achieved its intended effect with the consumer price index remaining at 2.2% in April, close to the 2% target according to Eurostat.
Currently, the easing of interest rates has been reflected in financial margins, declining in four out of five banks — with BCP being the exception.
Individually, CGD recorded the highest profits at 392.5 million euros but experienced a decline of 0.5%, affected by an 11.2% decrease in its financial margin (636.3 million euros).
Among private banks, Santander Totta reported the highest profits since the beginning of the year, achieving net earnings of 268.8 million euros.
The bank led by Pedro Castro and Almeida saw an 8.7% year-on-year drop in profits, within a quarter where the financial margin contracted by 19.6% to 354.2 million euros.
Millennium BCP’s profits rose by 3.9% to 243.5 million euros, closely aligning with the 3.6% increase in the financial margin (721.1 million euros).
Among the leading private banks in Portugal, Novo Banco profited 177.2 million euros, despite a year-on-year decline of 1.9%.
Owned by the American fund Lone Star, with the Portuguese state holding a direct and indirect 25% stake, Novo Banco recorded a 6.7% reduction in its financial margin, slowing to 279.1 million euros.
Lastly, BPI, which had the lowest profits among the five banks at 136.6 million euros, nonetheless reported the highest year-on-year growth of 12.6%. During the period under review, the financial margin of the Spanish Caixabank group’s institution declined by 9.4%.
Regarding employees and branches, the five major banks in Portugal employed 25,460 people and operated 2,203 branches nationwide. Year-on-year, there were 136 fewer employees and 16 fewer branches, a trend reversed for employees when compared to the end of 2024 (+151 employees, but two fewer branches).
As of 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).
Compared to the previous quarter, at the end of December 2024, only CGD reduced its staff by 34, while staff numbers increased in the others, notably Santander Totta and BPI, with 72 and 69 additional employees respectively.
In terms of branches, BPI (303), Novo Banco (290), and CGD (886) maintained their network size, whereas Millennium BCP and Santander Totta each reduced their number of branches by one, to 397 and 327 respectively.
