34
BUSINESS AREAS 1Q09
Wholesale Banking & Asset Management
The Wholesale Banking & Asset Management (WB&AM)
Area handles the Group’s wholesale businesses and asset
management. It is organised around three major units:
Corporate & Investment Banking, Global Markets and Asset
Management.
Despite the complicated economic and financial environment,
the area’s recurrent earnings developed favourably thanks to
the application of selective criteria for profitability and risk.
In the first quarter of 2009, the area’s loan portfolio grew
strongly (up 20.5%) to €48,777m, concentrated mainly in
Corporate and Investment Banking. It should be noted that
this increase occurred steadily throughout 2008 in a sustained
manner. Therefore, compared to the end of last year the
change is –0.6%.
Customer funds (deposits, mutual funds and pension funds)
also rose 27.6% compared to the first quarter last year, to
€59,262m, thanks mainly to a sharp rise in customer deposits
(up 33.3%).
The high level of business and active management of prices
lifted gross income (for units in Europe, New York and Asia)
to €518m, an increase of 7.7% compared to €481m in the
first quarter last year. The comparison is highly positive
because the income in 2008 included capital gains of €131m
from the sale of an interest in Gamesa booked by the equity
method. The most dynamic component of income is net
interest income, which shot up 150.3% to €276m. Net fees
and commissions contributed €108m, up 5.6% thanks to
good work by Corporate and Investment Banking (up 25.2%)
and by Global Markets (up 95.9%), which offset the fall in
Asset Management (down 37.8%). Net trading income came
to €90m, falling 18.2% year-on-year caused by the industrial
holdings portfolio. Lastly, other operating income and
expenses came to €43m. It fell 72.7% year-on-year owing to
the above-mentioned income on the sale of Gamesa shares in
the first quarter last year.
Wholesale Banking & Asset Management
Operating income (Million euros)
359
411
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
1Q
2008
2009
+7.6%
346
93
386
Relevant business indicators
(Million euros and percentages)
Customer lending (gross)
Customer deposits (1)
• Deposits
• Assets sold under repurchase
agreement
Off-balance-sheet funds
• Mutual funds
• Pension funds
ROE (%)
Efficiency ratio (%)
NPA ratio (%)
Coverage ratio (%)
(1) Including collection accounts.
The area’s cost control plans helped to contain operating
expenses, which grew in line with gross income to 7.8%.
Therefore the cost/income ratio is maintained at similar levels
than last year (25.4%). As a result operating income rose
7.6% to €386m.
WB&AM’s asset quality remains excellent with a low
non-performing asset ratio (0.6%) and a high coverage ratio
(170%), thanks to the area’s risk control policies.
Non-performing assets stand at €369m. Net provisions in the
first quarter came to €21m (down 55.3%) due to lower generic
provisions on containment of growth in risk-weighted assets.
Thanks to significant increases in recurrent income, to cost
controls and to the lower provisions, income before tax in the
first quarter of 2009 came to €365m, which is 14.2% higher
compared to €320m in the same period last year. Net
attributable profit came to €268m, which is 0.1% lower than
Wholesale Banking & Asset Management
Net attributable profit (Million euros)
268 290
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
1Q
2008
2009
–0.1%
185
31-03-09
Wholesale Banking
& Asset Management
48,777 20.5 40,477
57,219 17.7 48,630
49,041 33.3 36,797
8,178 (30.9) 11,833
10,221 5.8 9,662
3,507 34.2 2,613
6,714 (4.8) 7,049
25.3 35.3
25.4 25.4
0.6 0.0
170 n.m.
30
Δ% 31-03-08
268
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