Spain's Banco Santander Central Hispano (BSCH) on Thursday reported profits of 1.15 billion euros (1.46 billion U.S. dollars) for its Latin American businesses in the first half 2006, 27 percent higher than the same period last year.

The rise came from increased lending to individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises, the bank said in a statement.

A stable macro-economic environment and firm local currencies also contributed to the profit hike, it added.

Since 1999, BSCH has invested nearly 13 billion dollars in Latin American acquisitions.

BSCH President Emilio Botin said the rising profits in Latin America compensated for weak performances somewhere else.

Santander, the euro-zone's largest bank in terms of market capitalization, also said its second-quarter profits in the euro-zone were 1.72 billion euros (2.19 billion dollars), up 26 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The gains pushed up the bank's stocks by one percent to 11.68 euros (14.87 dollars) per share by mid-day Thursday in Madrid.

This year, Santander bought a 20-percent stake in Sovereign Bancorp Inc., based in Philadelphia in the United States, as part of its strategy of growth through acquisitions.

Source: Xinhua