Bankinter reports €46m pre-tax profit amid growing share of Irish mortgage market 

Bankinter, Spain's fifth-largest lender, said it now holds a 7% share of the Irish mortgage market

The lender's Irish business reported a total pre-tax profit of €46m last year, which was 13% higher than in 2024. Photographer: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bankinter achieved double-digit growth in Ireland last year, which was significantly faster than in other regions, the Spanish lender announced on Thursday. 

The bank, which acquired Avant Money in 2019, said that while overall business volumes were lower than in Spain and Portugal, loans and receivables increased by 23% in the year, growing to €5bn.

The lender's Irish business reported a total pre-tax profit of €46m last year, which was 13% higher than in 2024.

The vast majority of total loans, around 80%, are related to mortgages, a product in which the bank is becoming a benchmark in this market, the lender said.

Bankinter's mortgage book has grown by 27% in the last year, with the remainder of the loan book consisting of consumer lending, which recorded somewhat lower growth of 11%.

The Irish banking market received a significant boost in competition in 2024 when the Spanish bank behind Leitrim-based mortgage broker Avant Money announced the establishment of an Irish banking branch. 

Bankinter, Spain's fifth-largest lender, now holds a 7% market share of the Irish mortgage market, it said in its latest trading update.

Niall Corbett, CEO Avant Money, which was acquired by Bankinter in 2019

All income statement margins in Ireland grew at a faster pace than in the group’s other geographies, it added, with gross income rising by 14%. 

Overall, Bankinter ended 2025 with double-digit earnings growth, which exceeded €1bn for the first time ever. This was driven by an increasingly diversified commercial mix across all businesses and geographies in which the bank operates, and by a strategic focus on higher value-added products and activities, the lender said.

The group achieved pre-tax profit of €1.54bn in 2025, which was up by almost 13% on 2024. Net profit amounted to just under €1.1bn, which was up by over 14% on the previous year.

The lender recorded a "very positive year" across all balance sheet figures, with growth in both the loan book and customer funds, particularly those managed off the balance sheet, closing out another record year.

Bankinter said it intends to make 2026 another record year in terms of volumes, gross operating income, cost-to-income ratio, net profit and profitability.