BofA Upbeat on CaixaBank's Growth After Q3 Results; Forecasts Revised

08:05 AM EST, 11/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- BofA Global Research is positive on CaixaBank's (CABK.MC) growth after its third-quarter 2026 results amid expectations that the Spanish lender will see a 15% year-over-year increase in net interest income in 2027. "Banks hedge against interest rate risk by building portfolios of fixed-income assets. At the start of the year, expectations were for rates to drop; instead, they moved up," analysts said Monday. "The debate is how high; between 4Q26-1Q27e, c.EUR15bn of these hedges will mature and will be reinvested at c.3.3%. That's a large c.EUR0.5bn increase in interest accrual in 2027-28e. We forecast c.EUR12.8bn NII in 2027e, only +1% vs. cons. but +15% growth YoY." As such, the research firm revised its forecasts for 2026 through 2028, including higher service revenue and loan loss provision assumptions. Meanwhile, the EPS compound annual growth rate for the 2025 to 2028 period is projected to be between 15% and 17%. "The best franchises will be able to defend margins and expand NII going forward as structural hedge rolls-over. Caixabank is the clearest example of that; increasingly we like to combine that with businesses that also deliver cost control. We believe Caixabank can mitigate higher inflation," BofA added, retaining the stock's buy rating, with a price objective of 14.20 euros.