CaixaBank earns €2.951 billion in the first half of the year, having left the worst of the rate cuts behind.

CaixaBank recorded a record profit of €2.951 billion at the end of the first half of the year, representing a 10.3% increase over last year's figures, which are distorted by the full payment of the banking tax in the first quarter (where €493 million was charged and subtracted from profit, hence the larger difference with this year). The bank clarifies that the result would have increased by 1% in comparable terms if the banking tax had been recorded on a straight-line quarterly basis throughout 2024, as is being done in 2025 (which amounted to €296 million between January and June).

The bank has been able to increase its commissions and offset the decline in net interest income, which it believes reached its turning point in the second quarter.

In an increasingly complex environment with falling interest rates, the bank continues to show strength in its net interest income , although its impact has been greater than that of other banks given its domestic business profile, where the bank acknowledges relying on the strength of the labor market and the increase in population and disposable income to sustain its figures. Net interest income fell 5.2% to €5.282 billion , in line with the results reported by the rest of the banking sector. In June of this year, the European Central Bank (ECB) began the process of returning to official rates, which have fallen from peaks of 4.5% to the current 2.1% for the main refinancing rate and to 2% for the deposit rate, which has tightened European banks' intermediation margins. The bank offset the decline in net interest income with a 5% increase in commissions, to €1.948 billion.

CaixaBank expects the second quarter of the year to have been "the lowest point of the cycle" in terms of net interest income , which fell 0.4% compared to the first quarter and up to 5.6% year-over-year, to €2.636 billion. The drop in interest rates alone reduced net interest income by €164 million from April to June.

The number of customers continues to grow. While the bank added another 340,000 in the first quarter, from April to June the number increased by another 20,000, reaching 18.7 million customers. Of these, 71.7% have three or more products with the bank.

CaixaBank maintained a strong pace of credit growth, particularly highlighted by the increase in new mortgages issued. Overall, CaixaBank granted up to €43.4 billion in new loans, an increase of 27% , and this money was lent at an average interest rate of 3.76%, lower than the first quarter of the year, which was 3.92%, in line with the fall in interest rates. By segment, mortgage lending stands out. It grew by 46% (62% in the first quarter), reaching €9.7 billion . In consumer lending, this increased another 10%, to €6.8 billion, and new business lending grew by 26%, to €16 billion in the second quarter alone, which is especially significant.

The loan portfolio increased by 4.9% over 2024, to €369 billion, while deposits and other customer funds also increased, surpassing a new threshold of €718 billion (up 4.7%). Only on the deposit side does CaixaBank see a notable increase in non-interest-bearing balances (up 1.8% in the quarter) , compared to interest-bearing deposits, which grew slightly less, by 1.3% to €106.6 million, compared to a total of €396.4 billion, representing 26.9% of the total. This implies a fall in the cost of deposits to levels of 1.92%.

The discretionary management business grew by 2.9%, with 0.7 points contributed by market appreciation, according to the bank's financial statements presented this Wednesday. It has a 26.2% share of deposits and asset management in Spain as a whole. In total, CaixaBank closed the half-year with €188.6 billion in assets under management, of which €139.1 billion correspond to investment funds, representing a 4.5% growth. CaixaBank's commitment to the more premium banking sector has paid off, with nearly a third of the domestic market in its hands. During the first half of the year, net subscriptions increased by 40% (excluding market effects), to €7 billion, of which three out of every four euros went to investment funds and the remaining quarter to savings insurance.

Furthermore, the entity managed to increase the profitability of its ALCO portfolio by 16%, to €74.3 billion, thanks to the revaluation of fixed-income markets.

Regarding capital and solvency ratios, the fully-loaded CET1 ratio stands at 12.47% and the non-performing loan ratio stands at 2.33% (compared to 2.6% at the end of 2024).

Business growth is in line with the 2025-2027 strategic plan announced by the bank last November. Under this plan, the bank, led by Gonzalo Gortázar, aims for 4% annual growth in its main business lines, with a 3% increase in customer deposits; and aims to grow 6% in consumer loans and another 2% in residential mortgages; in addition to continuing to increase off-balance sheet funds, with a 6% growth expected in discretionary portfolio management.

CaixaBank's business in Portugal, through the BPI brand, saw profits fall by 11.6% in the first half of the year, contributing €235 million to the group, compared to €266 million last year. This was due to a similar drop in net interest income, which fell by 11.5% to €430 million, while fees and commissions fell by another 10.7% in Portugal. However, BPI increased its business volume to €68.7 billion, up 6% compared to the first half of 2024, with growth exceeding 4% in its loan portfolio. Mortgage loans alone increased by 6.3% and accounted for half of all lending, with €16.192 billion at the end of June. Consumer lending, on the other hand, fell, compared to a 3.2% increase in corporate loans and a further 1.2% increase in the public sector.

In its presentation, the bank highlights how BPI has increased its market share in Portugal over the past eight years, highlighting its focus on mortgages, where it now holds a 14.8% share, up 363 basis points since its launch in 2017. However, it has not been able to grow its customer base, which remains at 1.84 million this year.

Mortgages

CaixaBank's commercial push to expand its mortgage portfolio has led to the granting of more than €9.7 billion in the first half of the year, including its Imagin brand, targeting a younger audience, which represents a 46% increase compared to the first half of last year. Its market share is 27%, exceeding the strategic plan target, which sets a minimum of 1 in 4 new mortgages to be issued under one of CaixaBank's two brands in Spain.

Of the total mortgages granted by CaixaBank during the first half of the year, nearly 93% were fixed-rate, and this continues to rebalance its mortgage loan portfolio, which is divided almost 50/50 between fixed-rate mortgages and those linked to a variable rate.

The bank is investing in Imagin among younger customers, where the number of customers grew by 11% to 3.8 million in June. This brand's turnover increased by 23% to €20 billion, with a payroll market share of 8.5%. Among people aged 16 to 34, Imagin has the largest market share, at 40%, compared to its second-largest competitor, at 24%, according to the bank.