Banco Santander was founded in 1857. In 1999 it merged with Banco Central
Hispano, which had in turn been formed through the 1991 merger of Banco Central
and Banco Hispanoamericano. The combined bank, known as Banco Santander Central
Hispano, or BSCH,[6][not specific enough to verify] was designed to be a "merger
of equals", in which the top executives of the two pre-existing firms would
share control of the merged entity. Soon after the merger former BCH executives
accused Banco Santander chairman Emilio Botín of trying to push his own agenda
and threatened to take legal action. This post-merger disagreement was resolved
when BCH executives Jose Amusátegui and Angel Corcóstegui agreed to accept
severance payments, retire and pass control to Botín, at an expense to
shareholders of €164M.[6][page needed]
The large termination payouts generated negative press and Botín was eventually
brought to trial on criminal charges of "misappropriation of funds" and
"irresponsible management." However, in April 2005 the court cleared him of all
charges, the €164M retirement payments made to the two former executives were
legal, "made as compensation for the services provided to the bank." Also that
year, the anti-corruption division of the Spanish public prosecutor's office
cleared Botín of all charges in a separate case, in which he was accused of
insider trading.[6][page needed]
Acquisitions[edit]
In 2000, Banco Santander Central Hispano acquired Grupo Financiero Serfin of
Mexico.[7]
On 26 July 2004 Banco Santander Central Hispano announced the acquisition of
Abbey National plc. Following shareholders' approval at the EGM of Abbey (95 per
cent voted in favour, despite vocal opposition from most of those present) and
Santander, the acquisition was formally approved by the courts and Abbey became
part of the Santander Group on 12 November 2004.[8]
In June 2006, Banco Santander Central Hispano purchased almost 20% of Sovereign
Bank and acquired the option to buy the bank (at the time, the market value was
roughly US$40 per share) for one year beginning in the middle of 2008.[9]
In May 2007 Banco Santander Central Hispano announced that in conjunction with
The Royal Bank of Scotland and Fortis it would make an offer for ABN AMRO.
BSCH's share of the offer added up to 28% and the offer would have to be made up
of a capital increase through a new share issue. Then in October 2007 the
consortium outbid Barclays and acquired ABN AMRO. As part of the deal, Grupo
Santander acquired ABN AMRO's subsidiary in Brazil, Banco Real, and its
subsidiary in Italy, Banca Antonveneta.[10]
On 13 August 2007, Banco Santander Central Hispano changed its legal name to
Banco Santander. In November that year, it sold Banca Antonveneta to Monte dei
Paschi di Siena. In March 2008, Banco Santander sold Interbanca, a subsidiary of
Banca Antonveneta, to GE Commercial Finance, receiving in return GE Money
businesses in Germany, Finland and Austria, and GE's card and auto-financing
businesses in the UK, which it integrated with Santander Consumer Finance.[11]
In July 2008 the group announced it intended to purchase the UK bank Alliance &
Leicester, which held £24bn in deposits and had 254 branches.[12] Santander also
purchased the savings business of Bradford & Bingley in September 2008, which
held deposits of £22bn, 2.6m customers, 197 branches and 140 agencies.[13] The
acquisition of Alliance & Leicester completed in October 2008 when the B&B's
shares were delisted from the London Stock Exchange. By the end of 2010 the two
banks merged with Abbey National under the Santander UK brand .[14]
In October 2008, the Group announced to acquire 75.65% of Sovereign Bancorp it
did not own for approximately US$1.9 billion (€1.4 billion). Because of the 2008
financial crisis at the time, Sovereign's price-per-share had fallen greatly:
Rather than the $40 per share it would have cost in 2006, Banco Santander ended
up paying less than $3 per share. The acquisition of Sovereign gave Santander
its first retail bank in the mainland United States.[15] Santander renamed the
bank to enhance its global brand recognition in October 2013.[16]
On 14 December 2008, it was revealed that the collapse of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi
scheme might mean the loss of €2.33 billion at Banco Santander.[17]
On 10 November 2009, HSBC Finance Corporation announced its auto finance
entities had reached an agreement with Santander Consumer USA Inc.(SC USA) to
sell HSBC US auto loan servicing operations, US$1 billion in auto loan
receivables for US$904 million in cash, and enter into a loan servicing
agreement for the remainder of its liquidated US auto loan portfolio. The
transaction closed in the first quarter of 2010.[citation needed]
In September 2010, Santander purchased Bank Zachodni WBK from Allied Irish
Banks. On 28 February 2012, Santander announced that it had reached an agreement
with KBC Bank to buy KBC's subsidiary Kredyt Bank in Poland. Santander merged
Bank Zachodni WBK and Kredyt to create Poland's third-biggest bank, valued at
about €5bn (US$6.7bn), having a market share of 9.6% in deposits, 8.0% in loans,
12.9% in branches (899), and more than 3.5 million retail customers. As a result
of the merger, Santander came to hold 76.5% of the combined bank, and KBC came
to hold about 16.4%; other shareholders held about 7.1% of the shares in the
combined bank. Santander stated that it intended to buy more of KBC's shares in
the combined bank to bring KBC's holdings below 10%; KBC affirmed it intended to
sell its remaining stake.[18] KBC sold its shareholding and Santander owns 75%
of the bank, the rest is free float.
In October 2013, Santander acquired 51% in Spain’s largest consumer finance
business, El Corte Inglés, for around €140 million.[19]
In June 2014 Santander bought GE Money Bank, GE Capital's consumer finance
business in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, for 700 million euros ($950
million).[20]
In September 2014, it was announced that Santander was in talks to merge its
asset management unit with that of Unicredit to create a European firm worth
€350 billion in assets.[21]
In November 2014, Banco Santander acquired a 5.1 percent stake in Monitise plc
for £33 million.[22]
Operations[edit]
A branch of Santander in Berlin, Germany
The Santander Group operates across Europe, Latin America, North America and
Asia, partly due to its acquisitions. As of 2013 it had more than 186,000
employees, 14,392 branches, 3.26 million shareholders and 102 million customers.
Retail banking – the main aspect of Santander's operations – generates 74% of
the group's profit.[23]
A branch of Santander in Cardiff, United Kingdom
Santander bank in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Santander Totta branch in Lourinhã, Portugal
Europe
##Austria ##Santander Consumer Bank Austria AG
##Belgium ##Santander Consumer Finance Benelux B.V.
##Denmark ##Santander Consumer Bank AS
##Finland ##Santander Consumer Finance Oy
##France ##Banco Santander, S.A. – Representative Office in Paris
##Germany ##Santander Consumer Bank AG
##Santander Bank (Zweigniederlassung der Santander Consumer Bank AG)
##Santander Consumer Debit GmbH
##Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH
##Isle of Man ##Santander UK Isle of Man branch
##Italy ##Santander Consumer Bank S.p.a
##Santander Private Banking
##Jersey (UK) ##Santander Private Banking
##Luxembourg ##Banco Santander Totta S.A
##Netherlands ##Santander Consumer Finance Benelux B.V.
##Norway ##Santander Consumer Bank AS
##Poland ##Bank Zachodni WBK
##Santander Consumer Bank S.A.
##Portugal ##Banco Santander Consumer Portugal, SA
##Crédito Predial Português
##Hispamer
##Banco Santander Totta S.A
##Spain ##Banco Santander
##Banesto
##Santander Consumer Finance
##Openbank
##Sweden ##Santander Consumer Bank AS
##Switzerland ##Santander Private Banking
##United Kingdom ##Santander UK
##Cahoot
##Cater Allen
##Santander Cards UK
##Santander Consumer (UK) plc
##Santander Totta
Latin America
##Argentina ##Banco Santander Río
##Brazil ##Banco Santander Brasil
##Chile ##Banco Santander-Chile
##Banco Santander Banefe
##Colombia ##Banco Santander de Negocios Colombia S.A.
##Mexico ##Banco Santander Serfín
##Peru ##Banco Santander Perú S.A.
##Puerto Rico ##Banco Santander Puerto Rico
##Santander Overseas Bank
##Uruguay ##Banco Santander Uruguay
Asian and Australia
##China ##Banco Santander, S.A. – Hong Kong branch
##Banco Santander, S.A. – Shanghai branch
##Banco Santander, S.A. – Beijing branch
##South Korea ##Banco Santander, S.A. – Seoul representative office
##Australia ##Banco Santander, S.A. – Sydney branch
##Japan ##Banco Santander, S.A. – Tokyo representative office
##Singapore ##Banco Santander, S.A. – Singapore branch
African operations
##Attijariwafa Bank (4.55% share)
North America
##USA ##Santander Private Banking
##Santander Bank
##Santander Consumer USA Inc.
##Santander Global Banking & Markets
##Roadloans
##HelpingLoans
On 10 June 2010, Grupo Santander announced to invest approximately US$270
million (€200 million) in Campinas, Brazil in a technology centre for research
and data processing and a data centre, that was to support operations across
North America, Central America and South America. The new centre was to be
established within the 'Development Company for High Technology Cluster of
Campinas' on 1 million square metres. Construction began in January 2011, and
full operation was expected in 2013 offering over 8,000 direct and indirect
jobs.[24]
Sponsorships[edit]
Santander is a corporate sponsor of the Ferrari and McLaren Formula One teams,
and also sponsors the Copa Libertadores de America, Copa Sudamericana, and the
Recopa Sudamericana.[25]
The group had announced on 1 December 2008 that their Formula One sponsorship
deal with McLaren would end in 2010, when Santander would become Ferrari's main
sponsor. However, in September 2009, Santander announced it would continue to
sponsor McLaren alongside Ferrari due to its brand awareness in the UK rising
from 20 to 82 percent.[26]
See also[edit]
Portal icon Companies portal
##Inter-Alpha Group of Banks
##List of investors in Bernard L. Madoff Securities
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Annual Report 2012" (PDF). Santander Group. Retrieved
1 March 2013.
2.Jump up ^ "Annual Results 2010" (PDF). Santander Group. Retrieved 3 February
2011.
3.Jump up ^ "The Eurozone's Biggest Bank Posts A Stunning $26 Billion
Write-Down". Business Insider. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
4.Jump up ^ "Global 2000 Leading Companies 2011". Forbes. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
5.Jump up ^ Scott DeCarlo (17 April 2013). "The World's Biggest Public
Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
6.^ Jump up to: a b c Mauro F. Guillén, Adrian Tschoegl (2008). Building a
Global Bank: The Transformation of Banco Santander. Princeton University Press.
ISBN 9780691131252.
7.Jump up ^ KRAUL, CHRIS (2000-05-09). "Mexican Banking Deal Reflects Brighter
Outlook". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
8.Jump up ^ HBOS fury as EU backs Santander's Abbey bid The Independent
9.Jump up ^ Spanish bank buys Sovereign stake
10.Jump up ^ Santander buys ABN Global clients in Brazil
11.Jump up ^ GE, Santander finalize GE Money, Interbanca deal
12.Jump up ^ Santander agrees £1.2bn A&L deal
13.Jump up ^ Santander buys B&B branch network and deposit book
14.Jump up ^ "Santander scraps UK bank brands". BBC News. 27 May 2009. Retrieved
23 May 2009.
15.Jump up ^ Santander to acquire Sovereign
16.Jump up ^ Noreen O'Leary (16 August 2012). "Sovereign\Santander Picks New
Agency". Adweek. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
17.Jump up ^ "Santander Clients Have $3.1 Billion With Madoff (Update1)".
Bloomberg. 14 December 2008.
18.Jump up ^ Santander to Buy KBC’s Kredyt Bank to Boost Polish Business
19.Jump up ^ Carlos Ruano (8 October 2013). "Spain's Santander to buy 51 percent
of El Corte Ingles finance arm". Reuters.
20.Jump up ^ Paul Day; Jesus Aguado (23 June 2014). "Santander to buy GE
consumer finance business in Northern Europe". Reuters.com. Retrieved 27 June
2014.
21.Jump up ^ "UniCredit, Santander in talks to merge asset management units"
(Press release). Reuters. 23 September 2014.
22.Jump up ^ "Santander takes five percent stake in mobile banking firm Monitise"
(Press release). Reuters. 27 November 2014.
23.Jump up ^ "Key data". Santander Group. 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
24.Jump up ^ "Santander investirá R$ 450 milhões em pólo de tecnologia, pesquisa
e processamento em Campinas" (in Portuguese). Santander. 2010-06-10. Retrieved
2013-07-14.
25.Jump up ^ "Corporation Sponsorship". Santander Group. 2013. Retrieved 26
September 2013.
26.Jump up ^ "Santander extends McLaren partnership". Formula 1. 2009-09-14.
Retrieved 2013-07-14.
Sources[edit]
##Guillén, Mauro and Adrian Tschoegl (2008) Building a Global Bank: The
Transformation of Banco Santander. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).
External links[edit]
##Official website
##Santander companies grouped at OpenCorporates
This page was last modified on 1 March 2015, at 06:12.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santander_Group
Banco Santander (Spanish: [ˈbaŋko santanˈdeɾ]) is a Spanish bank, and the
principal subsidiary of the Santander Group. The bank was established in
Santander in 1857.
In December 2012, the Santander Group announced that it would merge Banesto and
Banco BANIF into Banco Santander, purchasing the remaining 10% of Banesto it did
not already own. [1]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Santander absorbs Banesto and Banif and shuts branches". BBC News.
17 December 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
Sociedad Anónima
Industry
Finance and Insurance
Founded
1857
Headquarters
Santander, Spain
Key people
Ana Patricia Botín, Chairwoman
José Antonio Álvarez, Chief executive
Products
Financial Services
Parent
Santander Group
Subsidiaries
Openbank
Website
www.bancosantander.es