Spain's biggest bank Santander braced for a continuing economic slump by increasing bad loan provisions in the first half, while reiterating its full-year net profit target for €8.88 billion (Dh46.2bn). Santander said yesterday that provisions for problem loans more than doubled to €4.626bn euros in the first half from a year ago, as bad loans reached 2.82 per cent of total loans by end-June, up from 2.49 per cent at end-March. Net profit fell 4.5 per cent in the first half to €4.519bn, beating analysts' forecasts for €4.337bn. Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the Emirates Business 24|7 daily newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here .