Santander BP sees current financial results, business development as good signs for future

After three quarters of 2025, the profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company Santander Bank Polska (from continuing operations) amounted to PLN 4,891.7 million (EUR 1.155 bln), which represents a year-on-year increase of 12.8 percent.

"This is a solid quarter in terms of business activity and the income statement, which bodes well for the next quarter and the end of the year," CEO Michal Gajewski told the conference following the release of the bank's financial report for the third quarter.

After three quarters of 2025, newly launched mortgage loans reached PLN 7.2 billion (EUR 1.7 bln), which represents a 22.9 percent year-on-year decline in sales. In the third quarter alone, sales amounted to PLN 3.1 billion (EUR 732.2 mln), up 28.7 percent on a quarterly basis.

In the first nine months of 2025, Santander BP's cash loan sales reached PLN 9.3 billion (EUR 2.2 bln), up 9.1 percent year on year. In the third quarter alone, sales rose by 7 percent quarter on quarter to PLN 3.3 billion (EUR 779.5 mln).

"We are accelerating our lending activity in all segments. This is a record quarter for cash sales so far, which, of course, makes us very happy. For mortgages, it was the best period in five quarters," the CEO announced.

He added that fixed-rate loans continue to dominate new mortgage sales.

"The total share of fixed-rate loans in the PLN mortgage portfolio was 48.6 percent at the end of September. For comparison, in June it was less than 46 percent," Gajewski said.

The bank is currently undergoing ownership changes. In early May, Austrian Erste Group signed an agreement to purchase a 49 percent stake in Santander Bank Polska and 50 percent of Santander TFI for a total of EUR 7 billion.

Erste expected the acquisition to be completed by the end of 2025. The finalisation of the sale transaction was subject to regulatory approvals and the fulfilment of other preconditions, including the sale to the Santander Group of a 60 percent stake in Santander Consumer Bank currently owned by Santander Bank Polska. Santander Consumer Finance is currently reported in Santander Bank's financial statements as a discontinued operation.

"As has been said, the transaction will be completed around the end of the year, and in my opinion, this is a realistic deadline," CEO Gajewski assessed.

Gajewski said it was too early to provide information on the bank's estimated costs resulting from the acquisition by Erste.

"These costs will also likely be related to the rebranding, which still requires approval from Poland's financial market regulator KNF," he pointed out.

The bank announced on Wednesday that it had recorded a decrease in credit risk costs from 0.69 percent for the three quarters of 2024 to 0.45 percent for the three quarters of 2025 (0.33 percent for continuing operations).

"Structurally, risk costs are lower without Santander Consumer Bank than they were for the consolidated data with SCB," said the bank's deputy CEO, CFO and chief economist Maciej Reluga.

As the bank announced on Wednesday, the interest margin on continuing operations in the third quarter of 2025 alone was 4.88 percent and remains stable against previous quarters despite changes in market interest rates.

"Our sensitivity to a 100-basis point decline in interest rates over a 12-month horizon, assuming a constant balance sheet, is approximately PLN 250 million without SCB, i.e. for continuing operations," said Reluga.

"Interest rates are falling, but the margin is not falling as much because we are hedged - this sensitivity is low. Interest income remains high because the increase in the balance sheet largely neutralises the effect of interest rate cuts," he added.

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