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Spain’s CaixaBank reports profits halved

Spanish lender CaixaBank posted on Thursday a first-quarter net profit of €152 million ($210 million), a 54.6-per cent drop from the figure at same time last year when it was boosted by one-off gains from acquisitions.

Published: 24 April 2014 17:06 CEST
Spain's CaixaBank reports profits halved
CaixaBank vice president Joan Maria Nin reported the results at a news conference on Thursday. Photo: LLUIS GENE / AFP

Spain's third biggest bank by capitalization said its ratio of bad loans as a portion of total loans fell to 11.36 per cent from 11.66 per cent in the same year-ago period.

It was the first time that its bad loan ratio has fallen since 2008, when Spain's decade-long property boom collapsed, causing millions of people to lose their jobs.

Net interest income, or earnings from loans minus funding costs, inched up 0.1 per cent to €993 million.

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"What we have noticed, especially during the final quarter, points to an improvement in net interest income, a gradual reduction in doubtful debts and the stabilisation of damaged assets," CaixaBank vice president Joan Maria Nin told a news conference.

CaixaBank's 2013 first-quarter results were boosted by the first time consolidation of earnings from Banca Civica and Banco de Valencia, two troubled regional savings banks which the lender acquired.

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BANK

Deutsche Bank to pay $130m to settle US bribery probes

Deutsche Bank will pay $130 million to settle a foreign bribery probe and fraud charges in precious metals trading, US officials announced on Friday.

Published: 9 January 2021 15:08 CET
Deutsche Bank to pay $130m to settle US bribery probes
A woman walks past the offices of Deutsche Bank in London. Photo: Tolga Akmen / AFP
The bribery case relates to illegal payments and to false reporting of those sums on the bank's books and records between 2009 and 2016, the Department of Justice said in a press release.
   
The bank “knowingly and wilfully” kept false records after employees conspired with a Saudi consultant to facilitate bribe payments of over $1 million to a decision maker, the DOJ said.
   
In another case, the bank paid more than $3 million “without invoices” to an Abu Dhabi consultant “who lacked qualifications… other than his family relationship with the client decision maker,” the DOJ said.
   
In addition to criminal fines and payments of ill-gotten gains, Deutsche Bank agreed to cooperate with government investigators under a three-year deferred prosecution agreement.
 
   
In the commodities fraud case, Deutsche Bank metals traders in New York, Singapore and London between 2008 and 2013 placed fake trade orders to profit by deceiving other market participants, the DOJ said.
   
The agreement took into account Deutsche Bank's cooperation with the probes, DOJ said.
   
“Deutsche Bank engaged in a criminal scheme to conceal payments to so-called consultants worldwide who served as conduits for bribes to foreign officials and others so that they could unfairly obtain and retain lucrative business projects,” said Acting US Attorney Seth D. DuCharme of the Eastern District of New York.
   
“This office will continue to hold responsible financial institutions that operate in the United States and engage in practices to facilitate criminal activity in order to increase their bottom line.”
   
“We take responsibility for these past actions, which took place between 2008 and 2017,” said Deutsche Bank spokesperson Dan Hunter, adding that the company has taken “significant remedial actions” including hiring staff and upgrading technology to address the shortcomings.
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