This year, as a preamble to the report, we have replaced the traditional letters to shareholders from the Chairman and the CEO by video interviews, which provide a more pleasant and intimate way of conveying their views on the Bank and the market in the current environment as well as their outlook for 2015.

The Bank managed its liquidity and capital actively, carefully and effectively, playing an active part in long- and short-term European capital markets whenever the difficult economic conditions permitted. This was possible thanks to Bankinter’s good image and known solvency within the investment community.

Bankinter achieved a pre-crisis level of results, with a net profit of €276 million, up by 45.3% on 2013. The bank has doubled its profitability in just two years, achieving a ROE of 8.3%, one of the highest in the Spanish financial sector. 2014 was a turning point in the balance of problematic assets, being the first year to record a net reduction.

For Bankinter, innovation is not just having ideas, but translating them into new business avenues and anticipating major shifts in markets and society. In the past few years major technology companies, start-ups with novel services such as crowdfunding, mobile wallets and money transfer, have become competitors of traditional banks.

Bankinter's employees are its main asset. Bankinter's people management and its generating an environment of professional development once again earned it recognition by Top Employers as one of the best companies to work for in Spain.