menu
In 2024, APB members continued to deliver improvements in profitability and achieved historically high levels of solvency, while their liquidity position remained robust.
Aggregate net profit amounted to 5.4 billion euros, corresponding to an annual growth of 12.6% and a return on equity (ROE) of 15.5%. This positive performance was mainly driven by a reduction in provisions and credit impairments and, to a lesser extent, by an increase in fee and commission results and other operating results. These factors more than offset the decline in net interest income, associated with lower interest rates, as well as the decrease in income from financial operations and the increase in operating costs.
The aggregate assets of financial institutions reached approximately 377 billion euros, recording growth of 4.1% and reversing the declining trend observed in the previous two years. This development was mainly driven by an increase in exposure to debt securities and loans to customers, partially offset by a reduction in cash, cash equivalents, and other assets.
Loans to customers (gross amounts) increased by 1.8%, reflecting growth in housing loans and consumer loans (4.2% and 7.5%, respectively). By contrast, loans to non-financial corporations and to the public administration declined by 2.1%. The NPL ratio continued the downward trajectory observed since 2016, declining to 2.5%, a level still slightly above the Euro Area average (1.9%). The NPL ratio net of impairments stood at 1.0%, while the impairment coverage ratio increased by 0.5 p.p., reaching 59.1%.
Customer deposits grew by 6.6% year on year, increasing their share in the funding structure to 72.4% in 2024. In addition, funding obtained from the Eurosystem declined sharply once again, becoming virtually negligible.
In terms of solvency, capital ratios improved, with the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio reaching 18.4% (+0.5 percentage points) and the total capital ratio standing at 20.9% (+0.5 percentage points), both remaining above the Euro Area average.