Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico Reports First Quarter 2013 Net Income of Ps.4,717 Million

MEXICO CITY, April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V., (NYSE: BSMX; BMV: SANMEX), ("Santander Mexico"), one of the leading financial groups in the Mexican financial system, today announced financial results for the three-month period ending March 31, 2013.

Comparable net income in 1Q13 increased 6.6% YoY to Ps.4,940 million. Comparable results eliminate the extraordinary impact on 1Q12 results of a Ps.378 million reversal of provisions in connection with a middle-market corporate loan. Additionally, comparable 1Q13 excludes an increase in expenses for Ps.441 million resulting from normalizing expenses throughout the year, rents for Ps.100 million, branch expansion expenses for Ps.135 million and a tax benefit of Ps.250 million resulting from the sale of a previously written-off loan portfolio. Reported net income for the quarter was Ps.4,717 million, representing a YoY decrease of 5.9% and an increase of 42.5% on a sequential basis.

Marcos Martinez, Executive Chairman and CEO, commented, "We are very satisfied with the results achieved this quarter, which show solid operating performance despite the market slowdown. We achieved sustained growth while maintaining the quality of our assets and ensuring the efficiency of our business. We have obtained YoY growth of 6.6% and 12.3% in net interest margin and net commissions and fees, respectively.

"We continue with our strategy to focus on our key segments. This quarter we reached YoY growth of 53.9% in SMEs, which continues to grow above the industry growth rate and achieved sustained growth in consumer loans and credit cards, up 13.7% and 22.4%, respectively. Additionally, we showed solid performance on our mortgage portfolio, which grew 12.8% YoY. These results were achieved while maintaining a strong focus on prudent risk management reflected in low NPL ratios and stable cost of risk. This, together with our efficiency-oriented culture, positions Santander Mexico as one of the most profitable franchises in the country."

Mr. Martinez continued, "We expect Santander Mexico's momentum to continue in 2013, supported by our competitive strategy and the positive expectations of Mexico's political and economic landscape."

To obtain the full text of this earnings report and the 1Q13 earnings presentation, please click on the following link: http://www.santander.com.mx/ir/inf_financiera/inf_trimestral.html

About Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: BSMX BMV: SANMEX)
Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (Santander Mexico), one of Mexico's leading financial services holding companies, provides a wide range of financial and related services, including retail and commercial banking, securities brokerage, financial advisory and other related investment activities. Santander Mexico offers a multichannel financial services platform focused on mid- to high-income individuals and small- to medium-sized enterprises, while also providing integrated financial services to larger multinational companies in Mexico. As of March 31, 2013, Santander Mexico had total assets of Ps.856.8 billion under Mexican GAAP and more than 10.0 million customers. Headquartered in Mexico City, the Company operates 967 branches and 226 offices nationwide and has a total of 13,498 employees.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico cautions that this report may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements could be found in various places throughout this report and include, without limitation, statements regarding our intent, belief, targets or current expectations in connection with: asset growth and sources of funding; growth of our fee-based business; expansion of our distribution network; our focus on strategic businesses; our compound annual growth rate; our risk, efficiency and profitability targets; financing plans; competition; impact of regulation; exposure to market risks including interest rate risk, foreign exchange risk and equity price risk; exposure to credit risks including credit default risk and settlement risk; projected capital expenditures; capitalization requirements and level of reserves; liquidity; trends affecting the economy generally; and trends affecting our financial condition and our results of operations. While these forward-looking statements represent our judgment and future expectations concerning the development of our business, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to: changes in capital markets in general that may affect policies or attitudes towards lending to Mexico or Mexican companies; changes in economic conditions, in Mexico in particular, in the United States or globally; the monetary, foreign exchange and interest rate policies of the Mexican Central Bank (Banco de Mexico); inflation; deflation; unemployment; unanticipated turbulence in interest rates; movements in foreign exchange rates; movements in equity prices or other rates or prices; changes in Mexican and foreign policies, legislation and regulations; changes in requirements to make contributions to, for the receipt of support from programs organized by or requiring deposits to be made or assessments observed or imposed by, the Mexican government; changes in taxes; competition, changes in competition and pricing environments; our inability to hedge certain risks economically; economic conditions that affect consumer spending and the ability of customers to comply with obligations; the adequacy of allowances for loans and other losses; increased default by borrowers; technological changes; changes in consumer spending and saving habits; increased costs; unanticipated increases in financing and other costs or the inability to obtain additional debt or equity financing on attractive terms; changes in, or failure to comply with, banking regulations; and certain other factors indicated in the "Risk Factors" section of our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-183409). The risk factors and other key factors that we have indicated in our past and future filings and reports, including those with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, could adversely affect our business and financial performance.

Note: The information contained in this report is not audited. Nevertheless, the consolidated accounts are prepared on the basis of the accounting principles and regulations prescribed by the Mexican National Banking and Securities Commission (Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores) for credit institutions, as amended (Mexican Banking GAAP). All figures presented are in nominal terms. Historical figures are not adjusted by inflation.

SOURCE Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V.