Banco Santander Chile reported earnings results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2017. For the quarter, the company’s In the fourth quarter, net income attributable to shareholders totaled CLP 134,678 million or CLP 0.71 per share and USD 0.46 per ADR, increasing 24.0% year over year. The year over year rise in quarterly results was mainly due to a rise in margins, fees and provision expense, complemented with a tight control of costs. ROAE reached 17.8% compared to 18.8% in 3Q17 and 15.3% in the fourth quarter of 2016. For the year, the company’s net income attributable to shareholders totaled CLP 564,815 million, increasing 19.6%, leading to a 218bp rise in ROAE to 19.2%. These positive results were driven by client activities reflected in the 17.0% year over year increase in net contribution from business segments. This was led by a 28.1% increase in the net contribution from Retail Banking segment, which more than offset the negative effects of lower inflation rate on net interest margins and a higher corporate tax rate.