BBVA Puerto Rico reports $8.6M profit in 1Q ’12
BBVA Puerto Rico said “all business areas contributed to the positive result." (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
A combination of strong growth in deposits and loans drove BBVA Puerto Rico’s first quarter results, which reflected an $8.6 million net profit for the period, up 42.4 percent year-over-year, the bank disclosed Wednesday.
At the end of the first quarter, loan production totaled $316 million, an increase of 97 percent over the same period last year. The total loan portfolio increased by 4.2 percent versus the same year-ago quarter.
In its report, BBVA Puerto Rico said while “all business areas contributed to the positive result” commercial loan originations stood out, with a 370 percent growth — auto loan closings were up 25 percent and mortgage loan production reflected a 27 percent increase.
In terms of customer deposits — excluding “brokered CDs” and contracted operations through cash — BBBA Puerto Rico reported 20.4 percent growth over the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, the bank’s The default rate closed at 6.85 percent, or 243 basis points less than the figure recorded in the same period of 2011 and well below the average rate that banks accumulate in Puerto Rico, the financial institution said in a news release.
The net revenue increase also allowed the Bank to strengthen its capital position, as its core capital rose to 11.58 percent versus 11.33 percent reported at the closing of 2011.
BBVA, which has been doing business in Puerto Rico since 1968, had some $5 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2011, according to its financial statements. The bank has four business lines: retail banking, wholesale banking, BBVA Mortgage and BBVA Auto.
The favorable report for the Puerto Rico market somewhat contrasted BBVA’s corporate results, which showed profit for the first quarter of 2012 was €1.005 billion, which is 12.6 percent less than the same period last year, but exceeded that of the two previous quarters.
BBVA’s net interest income increased for the fifth consecutive quarter to €3.6 billion, up 13.3 percent compared to the first three months of 2011.
“These results demonstrate the strength and resilience of our business model, which allows us to navigate the crisis, generating earnings and strengthening our capacity to grow while maintaining dividend payments,” BBVA President Ángel Cano said.
