Bankinter, the Spanish bank with the best financial and sustainability ratios, according to Álvarez & Marsal
The report takes an in-depth look at the situation of the Spanish financial sector.
For the very first time, in this edition the consultant incorporates a new Sustainability ranking, led by Bankinter, which was put together by combining the analysis of the rating agencies with the vision of the users obtained from a survey.
The consultant Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) places Bankinter at the top of the 2021 "banking performance" and "Sustainability" rankings in its well-known report "The Pulse of Spanish Banking", which is celebrating its XV Edition this year.
The report takes an in-depth look at the situation of the Spanish financial sector, in general, and the time that each bank is going through, in particular.
In its analysis, the global firmof professional services examines "the 10 largest Spanish banks with regard to their activities within Spain". The report also "highlights the main performance indicators of the Spanish banking sector", where Bankinter's position appears in the indicated place. The bank heads the ranking when the performance of the main Spanish banks is analysed together "in terms of growth, liquidity, efficiency, risk, cost effectiveness and solvencyin 2021".
In addition to being the bank that has improved its score the most, Bankinter is highlighted for being one of the banks "with the greatest capacity to generate total income on assets in 2021" and as the Bank with the highest productivity per branch.
Bankinter leads the Sustainability ranking
In this edition, Álvarez & Marsal has added a new Sustainability ranking to the report. The consultant has "combined the analysis of the rating agencies with the vision of the users obtained from a survey carried out on a representative sample of customers of each bank with the collaboration of BXG-the Brand Experience Group". This study shows that the bank with the best combined perception of both groups is Bankinter.
According to the report summary note published by the firm, "in 2021, the profitability of the whole of the Spanish bankingsector improved significantly due to the slower rate of provisions and the improvement caused by the efficiency initiatives". In this regard, it highlights that return on equity (RoE) reached levels very similar to those of 2019 and 2018.
It also underlines that "the cost of risk in the industry returns to values prior to the pandemic", with an average solvency of the industry at the highest values in the last five years and with the return to normality of the capacity to distribute dividends.
In any case, it reminds us that "Spanish banking is still far from the solvency levels of the European Union" (which stands at 15.7%). However, Alvarez & Marsal estimates that "there will be a downwards convergence between European and Spanish levels due to the new standards of Basel capital".
In terms of industry efficiency, Spanish banks are among the best in Europe –below 55%– and with regard to the non-performing loans (NPL) ratio, it underlines that the downwards trend of recent periods has continued thanks to the decrease in doubtful loans (with an increase in hedging).