Santander Q4 profit up 13 pct

(AP) — Spain's Banco Santander said Thursday its fourth-quarter net profit rose 13 percent to euro2.2 billion ($3.08 billion) as strong revenue growth offset an increase in bad loans amid recession.

Spain's biggest bank and the eurozone's largest by market capitalization said that gross income rose nearly 24 percent to euro10 billion.

Still, the non-performing loan rate closed the year at 3.24 percent, up from 2.02 at the end of 2008 but below the average 5 percent for the Spanish banking sector in general.

Fourth-quarter loan loss provisions totaled euro2.28 billion, up 18 percent from the same period of 2008.

For all of 2009, net profit rose 1 percent to euro8.94 billion, with strong performances in continental Europe, Latin America and Britain.

Santander shares were down about 3.5 percent at euro9.86 in early trading.

Chairman Emilio Botin said "the results for 2009 are the best in the bank's history, if one takes into account the difficult circumstances."

For the year, profits in Britain were up 38 percent at euro1.73 billion, while in Latin America they rose 6 percent to euro3.8 billion and 7 percent to euro5.03 billion in continental Europe.

Banco Santander set aside euro2.59 billion in capital to strengthen its balance sheet, with more than half of that money going to loan loss provisions.