Santander Totta profit falls 8.8% to 663.8 million euros on branch and early-retirement costs

Profit falls on one-off costs

Santander Totta, the Portuguese unit of the Spanish Santander group, earned 663.8 million euros in the first nine months of 2026, 8.8% less than in the same period of 2025. The bank attributes most of the drop to 29.9 million euros in charges linked to reshaping its branch network and to early retirements. The comparison is also weighed down by a 27.6 million euro item that was positive a year earlier, when the state refunded a solidarity surcharge that had been ruled unconstitutional. Excluding those non-recurring effects, recurring net profit fell 1.0% to 693.7 million euros, so the decline shrinks from 8.8% to 1.0%. The bank reported a return on equity of 29.6% for the period.

Margin squeeze and fee income

The net interest margin, the gap between what the bank pays to fund itself and what it earns on loans, fell 1.3% to 1,015.7 million euros from 1,029.5 million. RTP reported that loan growth only partly offset the pressure from repricing, and that repricing began to reflect the new interest rate environment only in the third quarter. Commissions rose 4.8% to 382.9 million euros, which the bank credited to growth in its customer base and to how often customers use its services. Adjusted operating costs, excluding early-retirement charges, fell 0.7% to 385.7 million euros. The results were released in a written statement, without a press conference.

Lending and deposits keep growing

The gross loan book reached 56.5 billion euros at the end of September 2026, up 8.3%. Lending to individuals rose 6.5% to 28,736 million euros, while lending to businesses and institutions grew 10.3% to 27,773 million euros, the faster rate of the two main categories. Within the household segment, housing loans rose 6.7% to 26,363 million euros and consumer credit grew 6.1% to 2,190 million euros. Customer deposits increased 6.3% to 41,529 million euros. The bank originated about 3 billion euros of mortgage credit over the nine months, which it described as a key lever for attracting and retaining customers.

Individuals28,736

Businesses and institutions27,773

Individuals

28736 million EUR

Businesses and institutions

27773 million EUR

Data from the article text

Branches and the group picture

Branches are being eliminated faster at Santander Totta than in the group's other geographies, yet the Portuguese unit remains the most profitable unit of the Spanish parent. In the third-quarter release, the bank's president, Isabel Guerreiro, repeats a line that has been used several times before and now serves as the bank's new motto.

“We want to be the best digital bank with branches.”

At group level, Santander reported 12,405 million euros in profit for the first nine months, 20% more than a year earlier. That figure includes a net capital gain of 1,895 million euros from the sale of the group's Polish subsidiary. The Portuguese unit's profit does not include that gain, and its results were published without an earnings call.