32
BUSINESS AREAS 1Q09
Spain and Portugal
mid-size companies that are solvent and viable, to finance
their working capital. BBVA is, in fact, one of the most
active banks in the placement of ICO funds. Up to
31-Mar-09 it signed operations worth €449m, which
were mostly managed by the CBB unit. The ICO liquidity
line accounted for €242m and the ICO-SME line €135m.
The transaction services unit ended the first quarter
with a user-base of nearly 62,000 customers in
electronic banking. It also started two new services:
Autocobro Express Italia and Módulo de Tesorería.
In the SME segment, the loan portfolio stand at €32,989m
and customer funds are €8,348m. Operating income for
the quarter comes to €218m, falling 5.2% on lower net
trading income. If the latter is excluded, recurrent revenues
increase 0.8%. Net attributable profit declined to €143m
(€156m a year earlier) after higher provisioning.
Lending to large companies stands at €16,971m (up
24.3% year on year) and customer funds are €4,826m
(up 6.8%). Operating income rose 20.0% to €72m and
net attributable profit increased 9.4% to €48m.
In the public and private institutions segment, where
BBVA enjoys a prominent position owing to its
specialisation and customer insight, the loan portfolio
increased 11.6% to €22,867m and customer funds were
down 22.1% to €13,350m. Operating income jumped
63.1% to €92m and net attributable profit came to
€65m (up 35.1%). The unit signed several operations
during the quarter. They included a syndicated loan of
€413m for the Balearic Islands’ regional government
and a derivative related to fuel for ADIF. Other deals
entailed €50m for accounts payable financing with Ente
Público Andaluz de Infraestructuras y Servicios and (in
conjunction with four other banks) a €35.4m loan to
finance construction of a canal in Navarre.
The current conditions of lower activity and strict risk
criteria affected lending to the real estate developer
segment and the loan portfolio remained at a steady level
(up 0.4%). By the end of March government-regulated
housing (VPO) accounted for 50% of this business,
compared 31.6% a year earlier.
Other units
The Consumer Finance unit manages consumer finance
and on-line banking, via Uno-e, Finanzia and other
companies in Spain, Portugal and Italy. In the first
quarter of 2009 it obtained operating income of €29m
(up 1.7%) due to good pricing on new loans and work
on efficiency. A net attributable loss of €31m stems
from higher loan-loss provisions.
In Spain, although the outlook is bleak and family
spending is down, the unit lifted its loan portfolio 3.9%
year-on-year to €6,156m. The number of cars registered
in the quarter dropped sharply by 43.1% and therefore
the vehicle prescription business invoiced €208m
(€401m at 31-Mar-08). Capital spending by companies
also declined, affecting equipment finance and
equipment leasing plans with invoicing of €56m and
€63m, respectively. In car leasing plans with
maintenance (renting) the fleet stands at 36,709 units.
Lastly, Uno-e’s loan portfolio stands at €1,006m with
invoicing of €409m (€500m at 31-Mar-08). Customer
funds managed or brokered by the unit came to
€1,348m (€1,512m at 31-Mar-08). In particular, time
deposits rose 11.7%.
In Portugal, the balance of vehicle finance provided by
BBVA Finanziamento came to €447m (up 10.8%) with
sales of €56m in the first quarter. And at 31-Mar-09 the
leasing plan companies in Italy had a fleet of 12,789
vehicles.
BBVA Portugal carried out a series of promotions in an
adverse environment to boost invoicing and customer
loyalty. They included a campaign to encourage the use
of credit cards and another, based on leasing, aimed at
the business segment (Desafío Leasing 2009 I). The new
products for customer funds target those with a
conservative risk profile, they include BBVA’s quarterly
interest deposits and 12-month Euribor. Project finance
operations included BBVA’s participation in a syndicated
loan of €50m for EDP and another of €27m for the
Baixo Alentejo tollway.
Lending to companies grew 15%, lifting the loan
portfolio 11.7% to €5,981m. Despite campaigns by the
competition, customers’ deposits increased 6.3%. Based
on this higher level of business, net interest income rose
26.9% to €26m, operating income increased 52.2% to
€18m and net attributable profit came to €9m (up
162.1%).
BBVA Seguros both brokered and developed various
products that were sold through different networks. It
contributed €71m to the area’s results (up 12.1%).
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