Bankinter's Chairman stresses at the AGM that the bank will surpass its pre-pandemic profit levels after the spin-off of Línea Directa
Bankinter's board of directors, in a meeting held prior to the Annual General Meeting, confirms the date of 29 April for the stock market flotation of Línea Directa.
Pedro Guerrero says the bank aims to
Bankinter's Chairman, Pedro Guerrero, today addressed the 2021 Annual General Meeting, which this year was once again held by remote means in order to comply with health and safety measures. Pedro Guerrero focused his speech on overcoming obstacles and on a "hopeful outlook", having "left behind a very difficult year" marked by the pandemic.
In this unprecedented situation, "Spanish society as a whole has shown praiseworthy solidarity and civic sense", he said, adding that these are traits that prove "our ability to overcome together any obstacles that the future may bring".
In this difficult situation, banking is playing, in his view, "a key role". In this regard, Guerrero said that: "All the institutions in the sector have worked together to continue lending to companies and families, avoiding them becoming stifled financially", extending the moratoriums decreed by the government and strengthening balance sheets with "significant provisions that make us more solvent in order to face the future".
Bankinter's Chairman excused the absence at the Annual General Meeting of the Chief Executive Officer, María Dolores Dancausa, because she is currently affected by COVID-19, albeit very mildly, and is recovering very well.
With regard to the results for 2020, Pedro Guerrero highlighted that the provisions made due to the effect of the change in the macroeconomic scenario caused by COVID-19, amounting to 242.5 million euros, have been the main cause of the fall in profit to 317.1 million, a decrease of 42.4%. Despite this, "we've been able to increase all account margins, demonstrating the remarkable commercial drive, good management and the effort and commitment shown by all our professionals," said the Chairman.
Línea Directa.
In other matters, the big corporate event this year will be the spin-off and stock market flotation of the bank's insurance subsidiary, which will take place on 29 April, a date confirmed today by the bank's board of directors prior to the Annual General Meeting. Therefore, 28 April will be the last day on which Bankinter shares may be purchased, granting the right to receive, without any consideration, Línea Directa shares that will trade on the Continuous Market the following day.
Bankinter will distribute its entire share premium (1,184 million euros) to its shareholders by giving them Línea Directa securities, one for each share they hold in the bank.
Following the spin-off of Línea Directa, the bank's chairman said he was confident that "with the pace of growth we're experiencing and thanks to the strength" of the bank's business model "in a short period of time we'll recover, and then surpass the profit levels we had before the pandemic and the spin-off of Línea Directa".
Dividends.
As for the situation regarding dividends for 2020, which has been limited by the ECB's recommendation, Bankinter's Chairman said that "although we understand the European Central Bank's decision to recommend restricting the distribution of dividends against 2020 profits, which has inflicted so much damage on banking stocks on the stock market, we believe that the time has come to take a different approach".
In Bankinter's case, charged against profits for 2020, "we've been able to distribute the maximum allowed: a 15% share of the profits, 45 million euros in total", a proposal for the profit distribution that has been submitted for approval at the Annual General Meeting. On the dividends to come, Pedro Guerrero said that "we hope to return as soon as possible to our usual path, with a pay-out of around 50%, which will be the proof that we are returning to the normality we are all longing for".
Bankinter's Chairman also stressed in his speech that "the behaviour of our employees has been and continues to be exceptional" in this pandemic year, in which they've shown "a capacity for resilience and professionalism that I'd like to give a special mention to today".
Sustainability.
Pedro Guerrero, who is also Chairman of the Bank's Sustainability Committee, highlighted a number of achievements in this area in 2020. Among them, the main one is Bankinter's recognition for having again been included on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the stock market index that groups together the companies with the best corporate governance and sustainability in the world. He also highlighted the carbon neutrality achieved by the bank not only in Spain, where it was already carbon neutral, but also in Portugal and Luxembourg, and the launch of the first issue of green bonds for an amount of 750 million euros.
New director.
The Annual General Meeting confirmed the appointment of Cristina García-Peri as a new director. With this addition, the number of female members on the board of directors has risen from 36.4% to 45.5%, making Bankinter a leader in this area of good corporate governance.
Regarding Cristina García-Peri's professional career, the new director, who is also a director of EVO Banco, holds the positions of partner-director of Business Development and Strategy at the Azora Group, partner-director in charge of Finance, Compliance and Internal Audit and member of the Internal Control Committee at said company. She is also president of the NGO Plan International in Spain