The following summarizes activity in the United States during the quarter:
- Strong growth in loans under management in the area (up 13.4% year-on-year and 3.8% on the quarter), with progress in practically all the portfolios. Loan demand in BBVA Compass, which has been trending above peer levels, remains robust, particularly in the corporate (commercial) portfolio, where growth continues to accelerate to 17.1% over the year. There was also outstanding growth in the commercial real-estate segment (companies with collateral), with growth of 15.8% on the close of the first quarter of 2013, and increases in residential mortgages and consumer loans, which grew by 9.8% and 7.4% year-on-year, respectively. Within the consumer finance segment, there was a significant increase in auto lending.
- This strong performance of lending has not affected the area’s asset quality negatively, as the main risk management indicators improved over the quarter. The NPA ratio fell by 24 basis points since the end of 2013 to 1.0% and the coverage ratio increased by 25.8 percentage points to 160%.
- Customer deposits under management also increased significantly, by 6.4% in the last 12 months, supported once more by the favorable performance of lower-cost deposits, i.e. current and savings accounts. It’s worth noting the slight increase in time deposits over the quarter (1.1%).
