By Jesús Aguado
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s BBVA on Friday said its third quarter net profit rose 22.7% compared to the same quarter a year ago on lower loan loss provisions and strong operating performance by Mexico, its main market.
The lender reported a net profit of 1.4 billion euros ($1.63 billion) in the July to September period. Analysts polled by Reuters expected the bank to book a net profit of 1.06 billion euros.
The outcome surpassed the 1.225 billion euros booked in the third quarter 2019, before the pandemic.
The lender also said its board had agreed to carry out a share buy-back program of up to 10% of its capital for a maximum amount of 3.5 billion euros.
The first tranche of 1.5 billion euros will take place after the bank’s investor day, on November 18, it said.
To cope with the pandemic and ultra-low interest rates, BBVA last year sold its U.S. business, generating more than 8 billion euros to focus on cost cutting measures in Spain and potentially buying back as much as 10% of its outstanding shares.
($1 = 0.8567 euros)
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by Inti Landauro)
