Solvency and profitability: the duality of the large Spanish banks between the two economic-financial crises of the 21st century

Abstract

A retrospective view of the “subprime mortgage” crisis enables us to assess the actions of banks, both those prompting the genesis of the crisis and those resulting from subsequent actions aimed at resolving it and rebooting the economy. However, given the fact that the crisis is framed by the sudden appearance of another outside the established parameters of the post-recession boom, we are able to analyze whether the actions adopted by regulators were as effective as initially thought. Solvency and profitability are two of the most important factors that reveals the quality of banking management. From the numerous parameters described in the literature reviewed, fourth banking ratios were selected to evaluate the relationship between solvency and profitability from 2011 to 2021, a period between the two economic-financial crises of the 21st century. Using a representative sample of Spanish banking and applying a descriptive and explicative methodology, the results show a complementarity between solvency and profitability. This evidence provides to bank managers more knowledge about the behavior of banking during crisis periods.