Spanish financial markets leave 2023 behind with higher shareholder remuneration, an upward IBEX 35® and 10 stock market debuts

• Dividend payments by listed companies on the Spanish stock exchange rose by 18.8% to 27.4 billion euros through November
• BME Growth closes the year with ten new incorporations, while the new BME Scaleup marketplace now has a dozen registered advisers
• In sustainability, the IBEX® ESG family is launched and 14,000 million euros in ESG issues are admitted for trading on BME's markets during the year
• Number of traded equity futures contracts grows 58%, while BME Clearing launches new Digital Asset derivatives Segment

BME today presented the 2023 Market Report, a year in which the IBEX 35® hit the 10,000 points mark for the first time since February 2020 and reached five-year highs, with a rise of more than 20%. Jos Dijsselhof, Chairman of BME, and Javier Hernani, CEO, took stock of the year, which was marked by interest rate hikes by the main central banks to curb inflation and by geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and Palestine.

Jos Dijsselhof stressed that, despite the adverse circumstances, "at SIX we have been able to grow our business and compensate for low trading volumes with our diversified business model, which has once again proven its effectiveness". He also highlighted that the implementation of the expectations generated by Artificial Intelligence, the role of regulated financial markets in the development of digital assets and sustainability will be central issues in 2024. In addition, he stated that the expectations for IPOs in the coming year are positive.

Javier Hernani stressed that "the contribution of the securities markets to the growth and modernisation of countries is decisive, as they make it possible to finance such important and demanding challenges as the transition to a sustainable economy, the ageing of the population and the digital revolution, both in the private and public sectors". He also pointed out that sustainability is one of the pillars of BME's strategy as a market infrastructure and as a company. In this regard, he highlighted the launch of the IBEX® ESG index family last October and the admission to trading of new ESG Fixed Income issues amounting to 14 billion euros.

In equities, the highlight of the year, beyond the revaluation of the main Spanish indices, was the increase in shareholder remuneration. At the end of November, it rose 18.8% to 27.4 billion euros. Thanks to these figures, the Spanish stock market has once again consolidated its position as one of the world leaders in dividend yields, which stands at 4.1%. Its historical average over the last 30 years is 4%, the highest among its peers.

The stock market continued to provide recurrent financing to companies. Up to November, 122 capital increases were carried out, compared to 119 in the same period of 2022, for a total amount of 4.6 billion euros.

In the year to November, ETFs were traded on the Spanish stock exchange for an amount of 1.2 billion euros and their assets increased by 1.6% to 530 million.

BME Growth has welcomed ten new companies this year, meaning that near than 140 companies are now listed on the SME stock exchange. Since its creation, this market has channelled close to 7 billion euros in financing for companies. This year, a new market, BME Scaleup, joins this market, which is aimed at scaleups, SOCIMIs and family businesses, and which already has ten registered advisors and will soon receive its first companies.

In Fixed Income the milestones of the year were the entry into operation of the new Securities Markets Law, which streamlines the admission process and makes Spanish markets more attractive, and the tenth anniversary of the MARF, which in this decade has channelled more than 70,000 million euros in financing and has reached 147 issuers.

In the Derivatives market, where trading increased was by 1% in the year, stock futures contracts grew by 58%.

2023 was also a busy year in the post-trading area.  Since September, BME Clearing has had regulatory authorisation for its new digital asset derivatives segment, which will renew the trading, clearing and cash settlement of these products.

On another account, Iberclear has strengthened its international profile by adding the Belgian market to its cross-border settlement and custody service. It joins the markets of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Switzerland.

Finally, REGIS-TR, SIX's 100% owned trade repository, maintains an EMIR market share in the EU of over 50%, reaffirming its position as the leader in Europe with more derivatives contracts reported than any other entity.

Related documents:

* Link to the Annual Report (only in Spanish)
* Link to the speeches.  
* Link to the photos.