Alberni, Marta

Interestingly, the banks’ excellent earnings performance over the past two years, in both Spain and Europe, driven mainly by growth in net interest income on the back of high benchmark rates, has not had an adverse impact on asset quality. Within this context, it is worth singling out the prudent provisioning effort being made by the Spanish banks, and the European banks in general, so far this year, recognising considerably more provisions (overlays) than required under applicable accounting standards and banking regulations.