Big banks pamper shareholders after a record-breaking year of profits

Barcelona / MadridFor the four largest banks in Spain, 2025 was not a bad year. In fact, with the exception of Banco Sabadell, CaixaBank, Banco Santander, and BBVA all posted record profits. However, the bank originating in the Vallès region closed the year with a net loss. match ball from the hostile takeover bid and will continue, for now, on the independent path it has so strongly advocated. In total, both entities have achieved a record profit of €32.278 billion this year. If the profits of Bankinter and Unicaja are added to that figure, the final total is €34 billion, more than double what they earned just four years ago (€16.289 billion).

These numbers represent signs of recovery that neither has hesitated to use to reward their shareholders, whether by distributing more dividends, how CaixaBank has announced and the BBVAor with more share buybacks, as is the case from SabadellCaixaBank has the funds to do so thanks to its strong solvency. In fact, CaixaBank has approved a proposal to its shareholders' meeting for a supplementary cash dividend of €2.32 billion, equivalent to €0.3321 gross per share, charged against 2025 profits and payable next April. With this dividend, shareholder remuneration for 2025 will reach 59.4% of consolidated net profit, equivalent to €0.50 gross per share, totaling €3.499 billion. Furthermore, it will maintain its dividend plan in 2026, with an interim dividend of between 30% and 40% of consolidated net profit for the first half of the year, and a final dividend to reach the effective distribution of between 50% and 60% of net profit at year-end.

In the case of Sabadell and BBVA, the dividend payouts are partly due to promises made to shareholders during the takeover bid. Specifically, the bank chaired by Josep Oliu will have distributed a total of €4 billion in just 12 months, including the €800 million share buyback and the dividend promised from the sale of TSB – its British subsidiary, sold to Santander. Meanwhile, the Basque bank chaired by Carlos Torres has announced that it will pay a supplementary dividend to its shareholders in 2026, which will increase the 2025 payout by 30%, to a record high of €5.249 billion. "This magnificent performance [of the bank during the year] has translated into excellent value creation, allowing us to accelerate shareholder returns, with a record-high dividend and the largest share buyback program to date," BBVA's president stated this Thursday.

But although the major Spanish banks don't seem to have reached their peak, no one is unaware that the normalization of interest rates is reminiscent of the era of less profitable loans – the major banks have pointed out on more than one occasion that when rates have been at zero, they have been a drag on their business. Therefore, these institutions are already scrambling for any loopholes that will allow them to weather the downturn: in the Spanish case, fighting for customers who, in a context of low interest rates and with the boost from the economy, are encouraged to take out more loans. Added to all this is another problem that Spanish banks have always complained about: that the profitability it has –or had– It does not cover the cost of capital.This means that their shareholders expect to receive much more than what they are being given back.

Global or Spanish banks?

Looking at each business individually, the results of Banco Santander (€14.101 billion) and BBVA (€10.511 billion) cannot be explained solely by their performance in Spain, although in the case of the Bilbao-based bank, the Spanish market has been the driving force behind this year's business, ahead of Mexico. Santander aspires to be a "global" bank, as acknowledged by its chairwoman, Ana Botín, and has therefore focused on strengthening its position in the United States, where it recently acquired another bank, Webster Financial Corporation, the parent company of Webster Bank, for €10.150 billion. Meanwhile, BBVA does not foresee any acquisitions after a year marked by... derailment of the takeover bid launched in SabadellBut it is seeking ways to grow organically, especially in Spain, which allows it to offset the weight of emerging markets where it is strong: Mexico and Turkey. In fact, in Spain, the bank chaired by Carlos Torres has gained market share, which has allowed it to mitigate the impact of lower interest rates on revenues. "There are no possibilities for consolidation in Spain now that the Sabadell deal is complete," the executive stated, adding that the bank feels "no pressure to make an acquisition." Meanwhile, CaixaBank and Banc Sabadell are consolidating their presence in Spain. Although the Valencia-based bank chaired by Tomás Muniesa is gaining strength in Portugal, where it operates through BPI, in Spain it acquired approximately 390,000 new customers in 2025, reaching 18.9 million customers nationwide, and asserted that it has no acquisition plans in the pipeline. Banc Sabadell, for its part, having shaken off the shadow of the hostile takeover bid that haunted it for seventeen months, now states that its main objective is organic growth within Spain, where it still has room for improvement. "It's not the time for inorganic growth in Spain," the CEO said this Friday. "Right now, the conditions aren't right. Everyone is still growing, but there will come a time when, with Sabadell's competitive advantage, some consolidation may make sense." That time hasn't arrived yet, but it's highly likely that when it does, the bank's top executive will be a new face: that of Marc Armengol.