Credito Emiliano (CE) Q1 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Consolidated net profit reached €139.5 million, up 2.9% year-over-year, excluding the prior year's one-off gain from the merchant acquiring business sale.

• Operating income rose 5.8% year-over-year to €502.9 million, driven by growth in all core income components and strong business diversification.

• Over 51,000 new clients were acquired, with total customer funding at €112.8 billion (+8.4% YoY) and loans to customers at €36.4 billion (+2.8% YoY), with notable expansion in consumer credit and residential mortgages.

• Asset quality remained robust, with a gross NPL ratio of 1.6%–1.64% and cost of risk at 7 bps, both well below industry averages.

• Annualized ROE was 12.8% and ROTE 14.4%.

Financial highlights

• Net interest income increased 4.3% year-over-year to €244.4 million, and non-interest margin reached €258.6 million (+7.2% YoY), its highest since 2024.

• Operating costs rose 3.8% year-over-year to €243.6 million due to headcount, inflation, and IT investments, but declined sequentially.

• Gross operating profit was €259.3 million (+7.7% YoY); net operating profit €231.3 million (+8.0% YoY).

• CET1 ratio at the holding level stood at 16.24%, with Banking Group at 17.47%, and a 770 bps buffer over SREP requirements.

• Loan-to-deposit ratio at 0.90, NSFR at 136%–138%, and LCR at 168%–169%.

Outlook and guidance

• Management expects continued resilience in profitability and asset quality, supported by strong capital and liquidity positions, with stable cost of risk.

• Authorization requested from the ECB to include profits in CET1 calculation, enhancing future capital ratios.

• Ongoing investments in digital transformation, IT infrastructure, and workforce development will continue, supporting strategic positioning.

• ESG targets are confirmed for the short, medium, and long term.