Major Spanish banks have already submitted their annual reports for 2022. The six major companies recorded a historic profit of 20,849 million euros.which is 27.8% more than the previous year, excluding the extraordinary impact of 2021. Some of the banks made record profits, but everyone agrees that these were not “extraordinary” results, but rather that “a profitable bank is good for the economy.”

Faced with these billions, some government voices opposed the banks, arguing that record profits should be used to take action against those hurt by the Euribor hike, and some members assured that the numbers justified the tax. Government second vice president Yolanda Diaz posted a tweet indicating that variable mortgages should be frozen, which she reiterated on Friday when all the major banks had already submitted. If the pledged person has to renegotiate his loan in January, his monthly payment will increase by more than 150 euros. In addition, some PSOE ministers such as Reyes Maroto have defended the sector tax.

But it should be noted that with these record results, the government also benefited: tax and dividends. According to six financial institutions, bank tax (called non-tax property benefit) will include the payment of 1200 million euros in 2023 written off the previous year. But not only taxes will benefit the state. He will also receive 273 million euros in dividends declared by CaixaBank, since FROB is one of the company’s shareholders, it owns 16.1%.

Nevertheless, These almost 1,500 million euros will not be immediately received by the executive branch. As for dividends for participation in CaixaBank, the government will receive 0.23 euros per share in the second quarter. In case of payment of tax, legal entities must pay 50% from this Saturday until February 20, and the other half from September 1 to September 20, as published this Friday in the Official State Gazette.

Broken down by organization, CaixaBank will make the largest contribution to the state treasury. The CEO of the company, Gonzalo Gortazar, estimated the impact of the tax in 2023 at 400 million euros and noted at a press conference on the results that in 2024 the impact will be greater. This amount will be reflected in the results of the first quarter, and they are still studying whether to appeal or not.

CaixaBank is the entity that will have to pay the most of this tax because it has the biggest business in Spain. Your income from interest margin and commissions in the country, which is subject to this tax at a rate of 4.8%, they are higher than its larger competitors such as BBVA and Banco Santander.

In addition, the bank, chaired by José Ignacio Goyrigolzarri, will also “reward” the government with a tax of 273 million euros. This year, CaixaBank will distribute a total of 1,700 million euros, equivalent to 55% of the profits for the year, of which about half will be received by the La Caixa Foundation and the state through FROB.

Even though the state should have pulled out of CaixaBank long before the merger, it still owns 16.1% of the company. In the last Council of Ministers of the year, Frob’s withdrawal from the shareholding was scheduled for December 2025. During all this time, the government has returned hardly 3.5 billion of the 20 billion euros. which he used for ransom. With this new dividend, it will move closer to 4 billion, but this is far from the amount deposited for redemption.

Returning to taxes, Banco Santander has estimated that it will have to pay between 220 and 230 million euros in taxes this year, while the BBVA has estimated it at 225 million euros. These two companies recorded historic profits in 2022. Banco Santander made €9,605 million and BBVA made €6,230 million. However, these two banks have to pay less bank tax money because their business has less weight in Spain.

In fact, many of the criticisms from members of the government were related to the numbers of these two banks. However, the presidents of each of them defended their numbers, arguing that such cumbersome figures must be considered in context. Both Ana Botin, president of Banco Santander, and Carlos Torres, her BBVA colleague, noted at a press conference that a profitable bank is good for the country’s economy because it supports it.

Torres explained that this figure is primarily due to growth outside of Spain. Actuallythe country represents only 23% of the organization’s business. The BBVA President stressed that the country “has yet to cover the cost of capital” and recalled that dealing with negative rates has resulted in a “some loss” sector with a difficult performance. Torres insisted that “billions can be a little confusing”. For his part, Botin pointed out to the executive branch that “a sound financial system is good for the economy”. The President emphasized the importance of banks working well.

On the other side, Sabadell Bank reported that his forecast for this tax was a contribution of 170 million euros, while bankinter He believes that his “account” in favor of the state for this tax will be from 80 to 100 million euros. Unicaja Bankwho did not hold a press conference, did not give an official figure, but, according to his calculations, the payment will be about 76 million euros.