The banking system recorded a great third quarter of the year and managed to contain the delinquencies due to non-payment of credits by companies and families, but warns that this could have been a “mirage” as the economic situation is still subject to enormous challenges.
“2021 is going to be a difficult year. In the last quarter, doubtful balances have fallen, but it is a mirage of what lies ahead and next year we expect significant increases in non-performing loans,” warned the counselor CaixaBank delegate, Gonzalo Gortázar, during the presentation of the bank’s results between the months of July and September.
The Catalan executive has celebrated the “extraordinarily positive” growth recorded by GDP in the third quarter of the year (+ 16.7% of GDP according to the INE) and has opened the door to an upward revision of its prospects of economic growth, which the bank placed at -12.5% for the year as a whole. However, all this will depend on the economic impact of the new mobility and activity restrictions approved by the different autonomous governments in response to the increase in coronavirus infections. “The fourth quarter is going to be weaker than expected,” said Gortázar based on leading indicators such as the use of credit cards.
The bank has detected a 6% drop in consumption in October when adding card payments and withdrawals at ATMs, and warns that November could be even higher due to the stoppage of activity and the very precaution of people in the face of the increase in infections.
CaixaBank won between January and September 726 million euros, which represents a drop of 42.6% compared to the first three quarters of the previous year. The fall is linked to the increase in provisions made by the group to cover the potential deterioration of its loan portfolios due to the increase in non-performing loans. For the moment, the non-payment ratio remains stagnant at 3.5% due to the fact that the moratorium programs and shortcomings in the payment of quotas approved during the months of stricter confinement remain in force.
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