Banco Santander SA reported better-than-expected underlying income and revenue from lending, helping investors look past a 1.15 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) charge for job cuts and branch closures.
Profit excluding the charge rose to 1.4 billion euros in the fourth quarter, while the capital buffer climbed above 12% for the first time, Spain’s biggest bank said in a statement on Tuesday. Provisions for loan losses were also lower than expected.
