In 2020, the Spanish financial institution posted a loss of almost 8.8 billion euros due to high depreciation.
Impending loan defaults and write-offs caused the major Spanish bank Santander to lose billions in 2020. The bottom line was a minus of almost 8.8 billion euros, as the money house announced in Madrid on Wednesday.
Without the already known write-downs on its business in Great Britain, Poland and the United States, the bank would have posted a profit of around 5.1 billion euros, 38 percent less than in 2019. Santander thus achieved the latest forecast by bank boss Ana Botín.
In addition to the depreciation of 12.6 billion euros, high risk provisions for endangered loans weighed on the net result. For this, Santander put back around 12.2 billion euros last year, 31 percent more than in the previous year.
The income – i.e. the entire income of the bank – sagged by 10 percent due to unfavorable exchange rates. Without currency fluctuations, they would have remained stable.
