COMPANIES BBVA, Spain’s second-biggest bank, on Tuesday reported a 14.2 per cent year-on-year decline in comparable first-quarter net profits, to €1.24bn ($1.6bn), as asset writedowns and bad loan provisions offset improved net interest income.
The result was distorted by a one-off gain from asset sales last time, according to the bank. With this included, profits were down nearly 37 per cent on the same period last year, it said. Non-performing loans as a ratio of total lending climbed 1.7 percentage points year-on-year, to 2.8 per cent.
