The banking regulator and supervisor has reported that in the first quarter, “the return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) decreased compared to the same quarter last year, to 1.29% (-0.11 percentage points) and 13.94% (-1.54 percentage points) respectively”.
The central bank attributed this decline to a reduction in the financial margin (the main revenue component for a bank, which is the difference between interest paid on deposits and interest charged on loans), primarily due to the decreasing interest rates on loans to businesses and individual clients.
Nonetheless, profitability in the first quarter was bolstered by a reduction in provisions and impairments.
According to Lusa’s calculations, the five largest banks operating in Portugal recorded aggregate profits of 1,218.6 million euros in the first quarter of this year, a decrease of 0.5% compared to the same period last year.
Therefore, the profits of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), Santander Totta, Millennium BCP, Novo Banco, and BPI fell by 6.5 million euros in the first quarter compared to the total in the first three months of the previous year.
