The euro zone's biggest bank, Santander, on Thursday posted a 38 percent jump in second-quarter net profit from a year ago, beating forecasts as provisions against soured debts fell.
Santander's net income in the period was 1.45 billion euros ($1.94 billion), compared to the 1.38 billion euros expected in a Reuters poll.
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That took first-half net income to 2.76 billion euros, up 22 percent from a year ago.
The bank, which makes most of its money outside its Spanish home market in regions such as Latin America, said net interest income in the quarter, or earnings from loans minus funding costs, was 7.37 billion euros, also above forecasts.