Corporate & SME Banking
Corporate & SME Banking has strengthened its competitive position, increasing its market share in lending to 6.6% in a demanding environment.
The good performance in 2025 was supported by a highly dynamic commercial activity, an increase in loan volumes and a strategy focused on specialisation, long- term customer relationships and disciplined risk and price management. This approach resulted in growth that exceeded that of the sector in an environment of falling interest rates. Pre-tax profit (PBT) stood at 760 million euros and gross operating income was 1,117 million euros. Lending activity picked up sharply, with new loans increasing by around 7% across all three segments: Large Corporate Banking and, to a greater extent, Mid-corporate Banking and SMEs. This higher volume of activity partially offset the impact of falling interest rates on net interest income. The loan book ended the year at 33,184 million euros (+6%), with a 6.6% increase in market share. Credit quality remained at very controlled levels and the favourable performance of the Spanish economy enabled companies to continue investing.
All business lines showed a positive and balanced performance. Large Corporate Banking was one of the main drivers of growth in terms of volume, supported by larger transactions and specialised advisory services for structured finance, syndicated loans, infrastructure and capital markets. International Banking stood out once again, with an increase in lending of close to 12% and a loan book exceeding 11,000 million euros, boosted by Supply Chain Finance solutions and large international projects backed by ECAs.
Meanwhile, the Mid-corporate Banking and SME segments registered double- digit increases in new loan production, reflecting the stronger value proposition and the good performance of transactional and engagement products, especially the Zero Business Plan for SMEs. The transactional business cemented its role as a key source of recurring income, while the investment banking business showed a solid performance in providing advisory services for corporate transactions and capital markets issuances.
Internationalisation, sustainability and transformation: the international business continued to report robust organic growth, thanks to better coordination between geographies and dynamic customer activity, offsetting the negative impact of the currency effect. In parallel, strong progress was made in sustainable financing – with a special focus on SMEs and mid-sized companies – and digital transformation, boosting operational and commercial efficiency through new digital solutions and the use of artificial intelligence.