MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Santander on Wednesday reported an eight-fold rise in fourth quarter net profit in 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier thanks to a release of COVID-related provisions which contributed to lower loan loss impairments.
Net profit in the quarter was also supported by a solid underlying banking performance in the United States and Britain.
In the October to December period, the euro zone second-biggest lender in terms of market value reported a net profit of 2.28 billion euros ($2.57 billion), in line with forecasts from analysts polled by Reuters.
($1 = 0.8872 euros)
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado, editing by Inti Landauro)
