Bankinter 2011 profits and debts both rise

 

Bankinter raised net profits by a fifth last year as it met its core lending targets, it said on Thursday, though levels of bad debt climbed steadily amid dire operating conditions for the country's banking sector.

Net profit Spain's eighth-biggest bank by market capitalisation rose 20.2% to 181.3 million euros, beating the 176 million euros expected in a Reuters poll.

That was backed by a fall of just 1.3% in net interest income, what it makes on core lending activities. Its loan book grew 2% in the year.

Bad debts however continued to climb to 3.24%of total assets, versus 3.12% in September and 2.87% at end-2010.

Bankinter is much less exposed than its peers to the bad property debt which has burdened the sector since a real estate bubble burst in 2007.

Nevertheless the bank said it had now provisioned to cover 36.3% of its foreclosed asset portfolio, amounting to 484.4 million euros, versus the 50% which the government has said it plans to implement.