Banco Santander posted a near fivefold increase in quarterly profits on Wednesday after Spain’s biggest bank set aside huge sums last year to weather the coronavirus pandemic.

First quarter profits reached a better-than-expected €1.6 billion, compared to €331 million in the same period last year.

“We saw good performance across all our regions, with particularly strong growth in the US, UK and Santander Corporate and Investment Banking,” Banco Santander head Ana Botin said in a statement.

We saw good performance across all our regions, with particularly strong growth in the US, UK and Santander Corporate and Investment Banking- Banco Santander head Ana Botin

“The success of the vaccine rollout remains critically important to economic recovery,” Botin said, adding she was “confident” that the bank would achieve its goals for the year.

The bank set aside €12 billion in provisions for loan losses last year, including €1.6 billion in the first quarter, as the pandemic pummelled Spain’s economy.

Banco Santander posted its first ever annual loss in 2020 due to restructuring costs and provisions to cope with the COVID-19 crisis, and it announced 3,500 job cuts.