Corporate banking

Commitment to specialisation

Corporate Banking, the business line specialised in business groups with annual sales volume above 50 million euros, faced a challenging environment in 2016. Low interest rates, excessive liquidity, falling credit demand among large corporates and the trend towards disintermediation of their financing adversely affected the market situation. 

In this difficult context, Corporate Banking managed to maintain its credit activity in 2016 (its credit stock grew by 4.9% on the previous year), increase its business share and defend its margins. To do so, it relied on a specialisation strategy that emerged following a change in the structure of the enterprise banking business. In 2015, Bankinter segmented its enterprise activity into three independent areas (small companies, medium-sized companies and corporate), each with a different focus. 

As a result of the change in approach, the Bank created a new distribution model based on a network of 22 corporate centres, three of which were exclusively devoted to company groups with more than 1,000 million euros in annual revenues. The new structure also made management of the business more efficient. 

Larger contribution

Looking ahead to 2017, the objective of Corporate Banking is to regain the path of growth in contributing to the bank's gross operating income.

Bankinter is aware, therefore, that the future development of the corporate banking business will not centre on pure financing, but will rather depend on advisory in external operations, on enhancing efficiency in collections and payments and in activities related to International Business, Investment Banking and Partnet Banking, with which there are many potential synergies.  

Another objective this year is to consolidate the new distribution model and deepen the efficiency and cost-effectiveness improvements that were observed in 2016.