Banca March maintains position as Spain's most solvent bank with CET 1 of 18.43%
30 July 2021 Category: Results
- With CET 1 capital of 18.43% at December 2020, the bank continues to top the ranking of Spanish banks by solvency, hitting its 18% target two years ahead of the late 2022 goal outlined in its 20-22 three-year plan.
- Banca March was not among the banks assessed in the EBA's stress tests due to its size, but it has maintained its leadership position again this year.
- It is the best-rated Spanish bank by customers on strength and solvency, as reflected in the customer satisfaction benchmarking by the independent firm STIGA, which revealed Banca March as the leader in this segment with a score of 9.12 out of 10.
- The bank also registered the lowest NPL ratio in the Spanish financial sector and among the highest liquidity and NPL coverage ratios in the first quarter of the year.
Banca March, the only wholly family-owned Spanish bank, continues to be Spain's most solvent bank, with impressive financial and capital adequacy ratios and CET 1 of over 18% at December 2020. This milestone means the bank has hit its target CET 1 of 18% two years sooner than the goal of late 2022 outlined in the 20-22 three-year plan.
The bank is not supervised by the European Banking Authority (EBA) due to its size – the threshold is €30bn in assets – and is not among the financial institutions analysed in the stress tests applied by the regulator, but is overseen directly by the Bank of Spain. The EBA bases its stress test report on the data posted by European banks at the end of the previous year, when Banca March reported CET 1 capital of 18.43%. In the latest figures published at the end of March this indicator was up to 18.22%, the highest in the Spanish banking sector and among the strongest in Europe.
Banca March customers rate the bank's strength and solvency highly, as evidenced by the customer satisfaction benchmarking by the independent firm STIGA, which revealed Banca March as the leading Spanish bank in this segment with 9.12 points out of 10. The report is based on a survey among customers of the 16 largest banks operating in the Spanish financial sector.
In April 2020, the credit rating agency Moody's ratified its rating of Banca March's long-term deposits as A3 with a "stable" outlook, one of the best ratings in the Spanish financial system, ahead of the Kingdom of Spain (currently rated Baa1). In its report, Moody's applauded the bank's "solid credit profile, with some of the highest capital adequacy ratios in the Spanish banking system and a robust liquidity position underpinned by strong availability of liquid assets.”
Banca March CEO José Luis Acea said: “We are very proud to maintain our position as the Spanish bank with the strongest capital adequacy ratio. Based on the unwavering philosophy of Shared Growth for customers, employees, shareholders and society as a whole which has inspired the bank since its inception in 1926, Banca March offers a unique, inimitable business model underpinned by four key tenets: shareholder commitment, exclusive products, outstanding quality service and excellent professionals. The bank boasts robust financial and capital ratios, professionals trained at the sector's best training facility for specialist wealth management and family business advisory services, the growing use of technology to enhance operations, unparalleled products such as co-investment and a sector-leading position in customer service quality ratings. For all of these reasons, increasing numbers of savers are placing their trust in Banca March. At times of uncertainty, our commitment to solvency and our robust business model are more valuable than ever”.
Banca March also recorded the lowest NPL ratio in the Spanish financial sector, standing at 1.50% at the end of March 2021 – even without resorting to large-scale discounted NPL portfolio sales – versus an average of 4.55% according to the latest data put out by the Bank of Spain. The bank's liquidity levels – LCR (191.7%) and DTL (130.0%) – and NPL coverage ratio in Q1 2021 (59.9%) were also among the strongest in the sector.