The chairman of The Banker's Bank of the Year, Banco Santander, describes why the global crisis has largely bypassed his bank, and how the company's focus on customer service and efficiency will help its acquisitions across Europe, Latin America and the US to thrive.

Abbey's CEO tells how his decision to pull the bank back from the mortgage market and transform it into a full commercial bank has helped it to thrive during the fallout of the crisis.

Close adherence to international regulatory standards has protected Madrid's financial system from embroilment in the subprime market that has so badly harmed rival centres New York, London and Paris. Yet Spain's flailing economy must be tended to if Madrid is to rise as a dynamic alternative. Writer Rodrigo Amaral

Banco Santander’s capital raising last November was unexpected but investors responded surprisingly well. While Spanish banks have largely managed to avoid the fallout of the subprime crisis, the government is taking measures to ensure that any further global setbacks only have a minimal impact upon the country. Writer Jules Stewart.

Santander CEO Alfredo Sáenz tells Karina Robinson that while M&As are there for the taking, it is imperative not to act hastily in the troubled market.

Spain’s savings banks are feeling the pinch of a slowing economy combined with the liability of their huge mortgage portfolios. Rodrigo Amaral reports.

As market uncertainty continues, banks need to know how to respond to the economic cycle, writes José María Roldán.

BBVA is in an enviable position for 2008, having had no involvement with subprime assets. Jules Stewart talks to president and COO José Ignacio Goirigolzarri.