MADRID, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Spain's Banco Santander, one of the largest in the world, reported 6.2 billion euros (6.6 billion U.S. dollars) of attributable profit in 2016, the bank reported on Wednesday.
The figure meant a 4 percent increase when compared with 2015, the bank said, highlighting the "strong growth in fee income and improvements in credit quality."
Loyal customers increased by 1.4 million to 15.2 million, while lending and customer funds rose by 2 percent and 5 percent respectively "excluding currency movements," according to the bank.
Furthermore, the number of digital customers increased by 4.3 million to 20.9 million in 2016 and clients' deposits rose by 1.2 percent to 691.1 billion euros.
Banco Santander Group Executive Chairman Ana Botin described 2016 results as excellent, saying the bank had "achieved strong results, meeting all our strategic and business objectives."
"Our investment in technology, together with the advantages of working as a Group, make Santander one of the most efficient and profitable banks in the world," she said, highlighting the improved customer experience "especially in mobile banking and digital services."
"Santander now ranks among the top three banks for customer satisfaction in eight of our nine major countries," said Botin.
The banker predicted a better-than-2016 but volatile 2017 with "opportunities for profitable growth in Europe and the Americas."
