Banco Popular Profits Hit by Real Estate Asset Provisions

Banco Popular reported a weak fourth quarter and full year, owing to a difficult lending environment and regulatory changes affecting the classification of nonperforming loans and assets. A new chairman is expected to be appointed after the general shareholder meeting on Feb. 20, after which Popular will revisit its targets for 2018. Until then, we maintain our EUR 1.10 fair value estimate and no-moat rating. Banco Popular’s core business performed reasonably well, recording a profit of EUR 1 ...