Caixabank's first quarter profits fall 24% to €553m

Caixabank reported a first-quarter net profit of 533 million euros on Tuesday, a fall of 24% compared with the same period last year.

The bank said the decline in net profits comes after the bank decided to cut its 9.4% stake in Spanish energy company, Repsol.

Caixabank announced its decision to reduce its stake in Repsol last September, and by the end of April had cut it to little over 1%.

The bank's net interest income - the difference between earnings on loans and deposit costs - was 1.24 billion euros, up 2.9% from a year ago.

The bank intends to reduce staff by over 2,100 employees, as part of its restructuring plans, although it says the job losses will be covered by voluntary redundancies.

A few days ago, Banc Sabadell announced that it had ended the first quarter with a net profit of 258 million euros, a 0.4% fall compared with last year.

Yet, the figure indicates a recovery in its earnings before interest, and it has reinforced its capital position through the sale of 80% of the Solvia real estate company.

The first quarter results also show an improvement in the performance of TSB, the UK bank that Banc Sabadell acquired in 2015.