Bankinter’s Irish mortgage lending share outstrips home market in Spain

Spanish banking group Bankinter said its Irish mortgage book grew strongly in the 12 months to the end of September, with its 8 per cent share of new lending outstripping its slice of activity in its home market and Portugal.
The group said that its Avant Money unit in Ireland saw its mortgage book grew 41 per cent year on year to €2.7 billion, with new lending for the first nine months of the year rising by 37 per cent to €900 million.
Its reported 12-month share of new Irish home loans production at 8 per cent compared to 7 per cent for Spain and 6.9 per cent for Portugal, the third market in which it operates.
Avant Money’s consumer credit book rose by 18 per cent on the year to €900 million.
Net interest income for the first nine months of the year increased by 7 per cent to €73 million, while its pretax profit advanced 12 per cent to €290 million.
The figures, contained in presentation slides that accompanied Bankinter’s latest quarterly financial update on Thursday, come as it advances plans to turn its Irish unit into a fully-fledged banking branch of the Madrid group in order to be able to expand services offered in the Republic, including deposits.
Avant Money is currently a nonbank lender in Ireland, albeit funded by its parent bank, offering mortgages and consumer finance.
Bankinter had previously it expect to receive regulatory approval for an Irish bank branch in the first half of 2025. They confirmed on Thursday they expect to start collecting deposits in the Republic by the middle of next year.
Still, they have said that move to operate as a bank branch in Ireland was not just about gathering deposits but an opportunity to get into, and “cross sell”, other products.
“With our strategic focus on geographical diversification, Portugal and Ireland now contribute 16 per cent of total group income year to date,” group chief executive Gloria Ortiz said on a call with analysts.