Santander Bank

In 2015, we started a new chapter for the bank with the launch of “The Santander Way”. Since then, our culture has united us and guided us all, from the branch to the board and back office.

Our global culture “The Santander Way” encompasses our purpose “to help people and businesses thrive”, our goal “to be the best open financial services platform, act responsibly and earn the trust of our employees, customers, shareholders and communities”, our values ​​“Simplicity, Personality and Fairness”, our risk culture (“Risk Pro”) that emphasizes that risk management is everyone’s responsibility, and our behavior.

2016-2010
In 2010, we acquired Sovereign to enter the US retail and commercial banking business. In October 2013, Sovereign changed its name to Santander.

In 2011, we acquired the retail and commercial banking business of the Scandinavian SEB Group in Germany through Santander Consumer AG. In addition, we acquired the Polish bank Bank Zachodni WBK. In early 2013, our Polish subsidiary merged with Kredyt Bank and Zachodni, making us the third largest bank in Poland (in terms of branches, deposits and loans).

To consolidate our strategy of listing subsidiaries, we listed 25% of the shares of Santander Banco de México in 2012, which was the largest transaction in Latin America and the third largest transaction in the world that year.

In 2013, the General Meeting of Shareholders approved the absorption of Banesto and Banif by Santander, a process that was gradually implemented over the course of a year.

In 2014, after the death of Mr. Emilio Botín, the Board of Directors unanimously appointed Ms. Anna Botín as the new Executive Chairman on September 9.

In January 2015, we completed a €7.5 billion capital increase for institutional investors. The purpose of the capital increase was to strengthen capital and take advantage of organic growth opportunities, increase lending and market share in key markets, while easily meeting every new international regulatory requirement. All of the targets we set in January were achieved throughout the year.

In 2015, we also revised the Bank’s corporate governance to incorporate international best practices. We appointed new independent directors; developed a new remuneration policy for executive directors and senior management that is in line with our culture of “simple, personal and fair”; appointed new country heads in five core countries; and strengthened leadership and improved efficiency at corporate headquarters.

We also made progress on our strategy to become the best retail and commercial bank, earning the enduring loyalty of our employees, customers, shareholders and communities. In addition, our senior management and our 190,000 employees around the world share a common culture and are committed to making Santander a simpler, more personal and more fair bank every day.

2010-2000
Since 2000, the Santander Group has acquired Banespa in Brazil, Serfín in Mexico and Banco de Santiago in Chile, strengthening its position as the leading financial franchise in Latin America.

In 2003, we integrated CC-Bank in Germany, Finconsumo in Italy, Hispamer in Spain and other group companies to form Santander Consumer Bank. Currently, the consumer banking business covers Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.

In April 2004, we moved our central services from Madrid to our new corporate headquarters in Santander City, which currently employs more than 6,800 people.

In November of the same year, we reached another important milestone: the acquisition of Abbey, the sixth largest bank in the United Kingdom.

In 2005, we reached an agreement to acquire a 19.8% stake in Sovereign Bancorp, the 18th largest bank in the United States.

In 2006, we recorded profits of €7.596 billion, the highest among Spanish companies that year, and we significantly increased our investments in customer banking and service quality. The “We want to be your bank” campaign in Spain and other campaigns in Portugal, Abbey and the United States exemplify this effort.

In 2007, we celebrated our 150th anniversary, when we were the twelfth largest bank in the world by market value, seventh in profits, and had the largest retail network in the Western world: 10,852 branches. We acquired ABN AMRO in a banking consortium with Royal Bank of Scotland and Fortis, which led to the acquisition of Royal Bank of Brazil, doubling the size of our presence in the country.

In 2008, we continued to grow through important acquisitions in the strategic UK market. With the acquisitions of Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, we had 1,300 branches in the country and became the third largest bank in the UK by deposits. Our profits of €8.876 billion made us the third most profitable bank in the world that year.

2000-1990
In 1994, we acquired Banco de Crédit (Banesto), marking an important milestone in our history and making us the leading bank in the Spanish market.

The following year, we began our second major expansion in Latin America, allowing us to develop operations in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, while giving new impetus to existing operations in Chile, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.

In January 1999, together with BCH, we participated in the first major bank merger in Europe since the adoption of the euro. After the merger, the bank became the largest financial institution in Spain and the leading bank in Latin America. Subsequently, we acquired the Totta e Açores Financial Group and Crédito Predial Português in Portugal.

1990-1960
In 1960, Emilio Botín Sanz de Sotuola and García de los Ríos joined the Board of Directors. During this period, we acquired Banco Argentina, our first subsidiary in Latin America, and subsequently established Bankinter in 1965.

In 1976, we acquired First National Bank of Puerto Rico and in 1982, Banco de Chile, positioning Santander as a pioneer in retail and commercial banking in Latin America.

In 1985, we established Banco Santander Commercial in Spain to carry out investment banking and wholesale market operations.

In the late 1980s, we strengthened our presence in Europe by acquiring CC-Bank from Bank of America, which had more than 30 years of experience in the German auto financing market. In 1988, we acquired a stake in Banco Comercial e Industrie de Portugal and entered into a strategic partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland.

In 1989, we launched the "Supercuenta Santander". One of the most innovative financial products in the history of Spanish banking, this account changed the banking landscape and opened up Spain's traditionally closed financial system to competition.

1950-1856
On May 15, 1857, Queen Isabella II of Spain signed a royal decree authorizing the creation of Banco Santander, initially to promote trade between the northern Spanish port of Santander and Latin America.

Between 1900 and 1919, our balance sheet doubled in size, capital increased to 10 million pesetas, revenues also increased (profits of nearly 500,000 pesetas in 1917), profitability was above average for Spanish credit institutions of the time. During the same period, three large Spanish banks were created and incorporated into Banco Santander: Banco Hispano-Americana (1900), Banco de Crédit Español (1902) and Banco Central (1919).

The period from 1919 to 1939 was a critical one. In 1923, we moved our headquarters to the Paseo de Pereda building in Santander; we founded Banco Torrelavega; and we developed a moderately sized branch network in the province of Cantabria (the first branch was opened in El Astillero in 1923) and elsewhere (Espinoza de los Monteros, La Nestosa and Osorno in 1924).

Emilio Botín Sanz de Sotuola López was appointed Managing Director of the bank in 1934 and took over as Chairman in 1950, driving strong growth in Spain. This process continued until the 1960s, with the bank acquiring a large number of local banks.

In 1946, we acquired Banco Mercantil, a long-time competitor of Santander.

A year later, in 1947, we opened representative offices in the Americas, first in Havana, Cuba, and later in Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela, with an office in London. In 1956, our Latin American department was established.

By the time of our 100th anniversary in 1957, our bank had become the seventh largest financial institution in Spain.