Caixabank's first quarter profits fall 24% to €553m
Bank attributes decline to decision to offload its stake in Repsol energy company
Caixabank reported a first-quarter net profit of 533 million euros on Tuesday, a fall of 24% compared with the same period last year.
The bank said the decline in net profits comes after the bank decided to cut its 9.4% stake in Spanish energy company, Repsol.
Caixabank announced its decision to reduce its stake in Repsol last September, and by the end of April had cut it to little over 1%.
The bank's net interest income - the difference between earnings on loans and deposit costs - was 1.24 billion euros, up 2.9% from a year ago.
The bank intends to reduce staff by over 2,100 employees, as part of its restructuring plans, although it says the job losses will be covered by voluntary redundancies.
Recovery for Banc Sabadell
A few days ago, Banc Sabadell announced that it had ended the first quarter with a net profit of 258 million euros, a 0.4% fall compared with last year.
Yet, the figure indicates a recovery in its earnings before interest, and it has reinforced its capital position through the sale of 80% of the Solvia real estate company.
The first quarter results also show an improvement in the performance of TSB, the UK bank that Banc Sabadell acquired in 2015.