“In the first nine months of this year, we achieved very good and quality results. We hope that the coming quarters will be positive for BBVA and, as always, we will support companies, families and society as a whole in an environment of high economic uncertainty,” said Onur Genç, CEO of BBVA.
For better understanding of the income statement, unless otherwise indicated, the variations shown below are shown at constant exchange rates, i.e. without taking currency variations into account. In addition, the figures for Turkey for 2022 are expressed according to hyperinflation accounting.
During the first nine months of 2022, BBVA achieved good results, despite the uncertain environment generated by the war in Ukraine and its impact on inflation and the growth of the global economy.
At the top of the profit and loss account, interest margin reached EUR 13,811 million in the first nine months of this year, up 32.6% year-on-year, thanks to strong credit growth (15% compared to September 2021) and an improvement in the range of customers. The good performance of this line in Mexico, Turkey and South America is particularly noteworthy. The net of commissions they grew by 17.4%, to 4,030 million euros, again boosted by operations in developing markets. Overall, the interest margin and net commissions, which represent the fixed income of banking operations, recorded a year-on-year increase of 28.8% between January and September, reaching EUR 17,842 million.
The result of financial operations (ROF) amounted to EUR 1,669 million (+17.4% compared to the previous year), thanks to the favorable development of the Global Markets unit in the main geographical areas. The line of other operating income and expenses accumulated a result of -1,145 million euros as of September 30, 2022, mainly due to the negative adjustment for hyperinflation in Argentina and Turkey and the higher contribution to the Single Recovery Fund (SRF).
The result of all this, gross margin reached 18,366 million euros between January and September, which represents an increase of 21.2% compared to the previous year.
In an environment of high global inflation, operating costs rose by 14.5% in the first nine months of this year. This figure, however, is below the average inflation recorded in the countries where BBVA is present (16.5%). Furthermore, thanks to the increase in gross margin, jaws remained positive, with an efficiency ratio of 42.9% at the end of September, the best among comparable European banks, an improvement of 249 basis points compared to September 2021.
Reflecting the above, net margin recorded a year-on-year increase of 26.7% between January and September, to 10,494 million euros. In the third quarter, this line reached a figure of 4,038 million euros, with an increase of 44.9% compared to the same period in 2021.
The line for the impairment of financial assets recorded an increase of 6.4% compared to the same period of the previous year, mainly due to the growth of activities. The accumulated cost of risk rose to 0.86%, compared to 0.81% accumulated at the end of the second quarter, in line with expectations for 2022 (down 100 basis points, at levels similar to 2021). The default rate increased from 3.7% to 3.5% in the quarter and the coverage ratio increased from 78% to 83%.
BBVA Group created a attributed result of 4,842 million euros between January and September 2022, which represents an increase of 47% compared to the same period of the previous year. Excluding non-recurring effects, profit amounted to EUR 5,044 million, 37.1% more². In the third quarter of 2022, BBVA earned EUR 1,841 million (+34.1% year-on-year).