CEO rules out any interest in bidding for a business in Ireland
Bankinter’s CEO, Gloria Ortiz, during a press conference at Bankinter’s headquarters on October 23, 2025, in Madrid, Spain. Photo: A Perez Meca/Europa Press via Getty Images)
Lending in Ireland by Spain’s Bankinter was up 23pc last year to €5bn, boosted by its growing mortgage book.
The bank, which trades here as Avant Money, had a total mortgage book of €4bn at the end of the year, up 27pc since the previous year. Consumer loans of €1bn were up 11pc in the year.
The Spanish lender said growth in the Ireland business was significantly faster than its other markets, albeit from a lower base. The bank’s growth here has sparked speculation it could look to buy PTSB, though the Spanish lender has previously played down any such interest.
On Thursday, CEO Gloria Ortiz went further, saying her bank has no interest in buying any banking business here – where PTSB has been put on the market.
“We are not interested in acquiring any operations in Ireland,” she told analysts on a call following the results.
“Our strategy is focused on organic growth.”
“We are not looking at PTSB and, I don’t know, I cannot be any clearer,” she said.
She said the sale process may create an opportunity to gain market share and pick up new customers shaken out of the existing banks, however.
The bank first entered the Irish market in 2018 by buying what was then AvantCard from the Apollo investment group. The renamed Avant Money began offering mortgages five years ago.
In a results presentation on Thursday Bankinter reported a €46m profit before tax for 2025 in Ireland.
At group level the Spanish parent bank reported a pre-tax profit for 2025 of €1.535bn in 2025.
Bankinter, headed by CEO Gloria Ortiz, has also said it plans to start taking deposits in Ireland, a move that will add competitive pressure in a market where the incumbent banks have benefited from significant customer inertia and wariness among savers of putting money in overseas banks..
Bankinter is the fifth largest bank in Spain and intends for its Avant Money brand here to merge into a newly established Irish branch of Bankinter, which is authorised by the Spanish central bank and will be regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for conduct of business rules.