SAN - Brazil was the main driver for Q1 cost of risk says Santander CEO

Brazil was the main driver for the cost of risk in Q1, Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) CEO Jose Alvarez said during the bank's Q1 earnings call. "So the cost of risk, we're going to be approaching the 100 basis points. We're going to remain below. Of this is what we said, we're going to be below expected across the cycle, using expected close of 1%. This is our guidance in the cost of risk," Alvarez said. Q1 attributable profit up 58.1% y/y to €2.54B from €1.61B. The results impacted by the absence of ~€500M restructuring costs. Total revenue below consensus, up 8% y/y to €12.31B. Q1 net fee income stood at €2.81B, compared to the year-ago €2.55B. Operating expenses amounted to €5.54B, widening from €5.12B a year ago. "We think that we can continue to deliver cost growth well below inflation," according to the CEO. Loan loss provisions increased by 5% to €2.10B

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Brazil was the main driver for Q1 cost of risk, says Santander CEO