BBVA Swings to Loss on Coronavirus Hit

   By Pietro Lombardi 
 

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA swung to a loss in the first quarter as it reported billions in impairments and provisions mostly related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Net loss for the period was 1.79 billion euros ($1.94 billion) compared with a profit of EUR1.18 billion a year earlier, the Spanish bank said Thursday.

Gross income, the bank's top line, rose to EUR6.48 billion from EUR6.05 billion, supported by higher net interest income, fees and trading income.

Analysts had expected a net profit of EUR939 million on revenue of EUR6.04 billion, according to a consensus forecast provided by the bank.

The coronavirus pandemic hit the bank's business in the first quarter, leading to sharply higher provisions and impairments. BBVA reported EUR2.58 billion in impairments on financial assets, EUR312 million in provisions and EUR2.08 billion of goodwill impairments in the U.S.

The bank said it won't pay dividend for 2020 until uncertainty related to the pandemic disappears.

BBVA's core tier 1 ratio, a key measure of capital strength, was 10.84% at the end of March from 11.74% in December.

Write to Pietro Lombardi at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 30, 2020 01:22 ET (05:22 GMT)

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