Portuguese banks have proved themselves buoyant in a challenging economic environment, diversifying and cost-cutting to achieve good results. Peter Wise reports.Recession? What recession? Despite six successive quarters of economic downturn, Portuguese banks are achieving robust growth. Most of them outshone analysts’ forecasts by a wide margin in 2003 and several recorded their best annual results ever.
Spanish banks have had an uphill struggle in Latin America but now the continent is delivering returns at the same time as the domestic market remains buoyant. Jules Stewart reports.Last month’s terrorist attacks in Madrid may have raised a question mark over Spain’s political agenda, but for the banks it is business as usual, only more so. The outlook for 2004 is for continued growth inoperating profits.