Grupo Santander
With a strong international presence and phenomenal profit growth, Grupo Santander is once again The Banker’s choice in Spain. Its integration of recently purchased Abbey and its IT system is a success story in its own right.
With Abbey, Santander cut costs aggressively, realising £200m in savings in the first year. Santander has also cut commissions on a series of services, added branches throughout the country and launched a series of innovative products, such as the country’s first 40-year mortgage.
“Santander’s branch network in Spain reinforced its market leadership with the introduction in January of the ‘We want to be your bank’ strategy with the goal of making Santander the top bank for individuals,” says Enrique Garcia Candelas, managing director of Santander’s branch network in Spain. “Under this initiative, we eliminated from one day to the next commissions on a wide range of services for customers who have their payroll deposit, pension deposit, mortgage loan or pension plan with Santander. We decided to match these customers’ confidence and commitment to the bank, and there is no better way to do it than with action.
“At the same time, after careful study, we are adding branches to assure we remain close to our customers and seize new opportunities as they arise. We have had great results in 2006, helped by higher business volumes, excellent price management, flat costs and high-quality risk management. The prospects for the rest of the year are excellent.”
