Portugal's banks, as a group, made a profit last year and are in the black so far in 2018.
BCP, BPI, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Santander Totta made €1.54 billion in the first nine months of 2018, more than triple the €441 million in the same period last year.
Profits have derived from a resurgence of economic activity in Portugal with profits rising from €181 million to over €1 billion to September this year.
This was mainly due to the reduction of impairments and provisions, the increase in fees and the improvement in net interest income.
In domestic activity, banks earned an additional €82 million in fees, which accounted for more than €1.12 billion in revenue. In addition to stiffing their customers with a range of unilaterally imposed higher charges, banks are benefiting from increased trading activity.
