The positive performance of business activity in South America continued in the third quarter of 2012, in both lending and customer deposits.

Gross customer lending closed September with a balance of €46,961m, a year-on-year growth of 19.0%. This growth has been leveraged in the segment of private individuals (up 32.0%), thanks to the positive performance of consumer finance and credit cards.

There was a notable year-on-year gain in market share in the individuals segment of 29 basis points, according to the latest information available for July.

The above mentioned increased market share of the loan book has not been at the expense of quality, as shown by the improvement in the NPA ratio, which fell to 2.2% as of 30-Sep-2012 (2.3% as of 30-Jun-2012), and in the coverage ratio, which increased to 142% over the same period (139% at the close of the first half of 2012). It is worth noting that this positive performance is once more due to rigorous risk admission policies and outstanding management of recoveries.

On-balance-sheet customer deposits (excluding repos) have maintained their rate of growth, with a year-on-year increase of 20.1% as of 30-Sep-2012, closing September at €52,626m. This increase is mainly the result of a rise in lower-cost transactional deposits (up 22.6%), which have gained 16 basis points in market share over the last 12 months (also according to data as of July 2012). Including the assets under management by mutual funds and repos, customer funds managed by the banks in South America amounted to €56,158m, up 19.0% on the same date in 2011.