At the close of the third quarter of 2012, gross lending to customers in the area amounted to €32,284m, a year-on-year fall of 7.7% and a quarterly fall of 4.6%, due to the shrinking of the wholesale customer loan portfolio. Retail loans grew at 4.9% in the last 12 months and remains at very similar levels to 30-Jun-2012. Once more, one of the strong points was the positive trend in balances from Turkey, which account for 34% of gross customer lending in the area and 56% of the retail business in Europe (excluding Spain). Balances were 22.8% higher than the figure for the same date in 2011.

With respect to the risk indicators, the NPA ratio closed 30-Sep-2012 at 1.7%, which compares with the figure of 1.4% at the end of the previous quarter. This slight increase is mainly due to lower lending, as the volume of NPA has remained fairly stable. The coverage ratio closed the quarter at 114% and the risk premium at 0.52% (119% and 0.45%, respectively, as of 30-Jun-2012).

Customer funds (including repos and off-balance-sheet funds) closed at €19,355m, a very similar level to 30-Jun-2012 and a year-on-year fall of 18.2%. This is also basically due to the drop in wholesale deposits. Turkey’s contribution over the last 12 months continues to be very positive. Customer funds consolidated in the Group increased 17.9% on the same figure in 2011.