Santander profits up 13% after boost from mortgage lending and current accounts

Updated

High street bank Santander has posted a 13% rise in profits after it grew mortgage lending and attracted more current account customers.

The Spanish-owned lender said UK pre-tax profits increased to £532 million in the first three months of 2016, up from £470 million a year earlier.

It increased net mortgage lending - total advances less redemptions - by £1.3 billion in the quarter, which compares with a £400 million fall a year ago.

Net lending to new businesses rose 10%.

Its 1/2/3 World offering notched up around 131,000 customers in the first quarter, with wider current account balances up £3.6 billion to £56.8 billion as it benefited from customer switching.

First quarter figures were boosted by the absence of any further compensation charges for the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal, while it also saw a sharp fall in the number of loans turned sour, with fewer borrowers falling behind on repayments.

But owner Banco Santander - the biggest bank in the eurozone - suffered a more difficult first quarter as group-wide net profit fell 5% to 1.63 billion euros (£1.26 billion) in the first quarter.

It was hit by currency exchange rates and a deepening recession in Brazil, which is its second biggest market.

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