CaixaBank posts €1.47 billion Q1 profit, boosted by change in bank tax accounting 

CaixaBank earned €1.47 billion in the first quarter of 2025. This is a 46% rise from the €1.005 billion recorded in last year's Q1.  

The spike is mainly due to a change in how banking tax is accounted for: while CaixaBank paid the full €493 million tax upfront in Q1 last year, this year's €148 million is spread out quarterly. However, under comparable terms, the increase is 6.9%, which is also what the bank noted.  

Compared to the previous quarter, CaixaBank's profit declined by 4.5%, down from €1.54 billion in Q4 2024. 

Net interest income fell 4.9% year-on-year to €2.65 billion, due to falling interest rates. Nevertheless, gross income climbed 14.7% to €1.58 billion, bringing the operating margin to €2.43 billion, a 22.3% increase.  

Return on equity (ROE) reached 16.5%, or 15.4% when adjusting for a linear distribution of the bank tax, compared to 13.4% in March 2024. 

Revenue from services rose by 6.8% to €1.28 billion. Wealth management income jumped by 16.5%, insurance revenue grew by 1.9%, and total commissions increased by 1.4%, though core banking commissions fell by 1.4%. CaixaBank also received €50 million in dividends from BFA and €72 million in earnings from equity-accounted entities, a 27.7% year-on-year increase. 

The bank is already implementing its new strategic plan, focused on growth, transformation, investment, and sustainability. Its client base in Spain grew by 340,000 over the past year to 18.6 million, while digital customers surpassed the 12.2 million. 

CaixaBank Tech, the bank’s technology arm, has filled about half of the 1,250 new roles it plans to create this year, 400 of them for developers. 

Total gross loans to customers stood at €364.2 billion, with healthy loans making up €354.6 billion, up 2.9% from March 2024. New personal loans reached €18.9 billion (+15%), including €4.5 billion in mortgages (+62%). Business loans increased by 4% to €11 billion. 

CaixaBank continues to show strong financial health, with a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 2.5%, high liquidity levels (€171.2 billion), and a CET1 capital ratio of 12.5%, helped by the EU’s new Basel IV regulations.