Spanish banking giant Banco Santander has reported an attributable profit of 4.37 billion (US$59.3 billion) for the year 2013, a surge of 90% over 2012.
The bank in its statement said that Latin American and Polish operations accounted for more than half of its profit in 2013, but profit in Latin America declined 23.6%, to 3.26 billion, from 4.26 billion a year ago.
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Earnings from Brazil, the biggest contributor to Santander’s profit, fell 28 percent from a year ago to 1.58 billion for the full year.
However, the Spanish group’s customer funds under management fell to 924.621 billion from 968.9 billion in 2012.
Santander president Emilio Botin said the bank "is embarking on a period of strong profit growth in the coming years" after several years of strengthening the balance sheet and its capital base.
