With Temer in charge, Brazil accounts for 21% of Santander's global profit.

Banco Santander reported a 4% increase in net profit in 2016, as better results in Brazil helped offset weaker performance in the United Kingdom; the group had a net profit of €6,2 billion (US$6,65 billion) last year; according to Spanish accounting standards, Santander reported a net profit of €1,786 billion in Brazil in 2016, a figure up 9,5%; recession; while the recession under Michel Temer's government reduced jobs and the purchasing power of the population, on the other hand, it meant that Brazil accounted for 21% of the financial conglomerate's global profit.

January 25, 2017, 11:25 AMUpdated June 29, 2018, 12:22 pm

Banco Santander reported a 4% increase in net profit in 2016, as better results in Brazil helped offset weaker performance in the United Kingdom; the group had a net profit of €6,2 billion (US$6,65 billion) last year; according to Spanish accounting standards, Santander reported a net profit of €1,786 billion in Brazil in 2016, a figure up 9,5%; recession; while the recession under Michel Temer's government reduced jobs and the purchasing power of the population, on the other hand, it meant that Brazil accounted for 21% of the financial conglomerate's global profit (Photo: Paulo Emílio)

Reuters - Banco Santander reported a 4 percent increase in net profit for 2016 on Wednesday, as better results in Brazil helped offset weaker performance in the United Kingdom.

The largest bank in the eurozone by market value, the Santander group posted a net profit of 6,2 billion euros ($6,65 billion) in 2016, exceeding the average expectation of analysts surveyed by Thompson Reuters, which was 6,12 billion euros.

In the fourth quarter alone, the bank's net profit was 1,6 billion euros, well above the 25 million euros of the same quarter in 2015, when the result was affected by a compensation payment of 600 million euros in the United Kingdom.

According to Spanish accounting standards, Santander reported a net profit of 1,786 billion euros in Brazil in 2016, a figure 9,5 percent higher than in 2015. The improved performance in Brazil and other Latin American markets helped the bank cope with tighter margins in Europe.

In the United Kingdom, Santander's second-largest market after Brazil, the bank's net profit fell by almost 15 percent in 2016, to 1,68 billion euros, mainly due to the depreciation of the pound sterling, which plummeted to its lowest level in almost three decades after the Brexit vote in June of last year.

Santander reiterated its 2018 targets on Wednesday. "In the future, we have many opportunities to grow profitably in Europe and the Americas in an environment that we expect will be volatile, but generally better than 2016 was in our main markets," said the president of the Santander group, Ana Botín.

Unlike most Spanish banks, Santander is not expected to be harmed by a recent court ruling in Europe that could force other institutions to reimburse customers up to 4 billion euros for mortgages granted with minimum interest rates that were not clearly explained.