BANCO SANTANDER S.A.

Banco Santander, S.A. is a Spanish universal bank founded in 1857, with legal headquarters in Santander and operational headquarters in Madrid, and operates under the ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism and the EU’s Single Resolution regime; it is listed in Madrid (ticker SAN, IBEX 35) and has ADRs on the NYSE. The group runs a multi-geography model across Europe (notably Spain, the UK, Portugal and Poland), North America (United States, Mexico) and South America (led by Brazil, Chile and Argentina), organized into Retail Banking, Digital Consumer Bank (including auto and point-of-sale finance), Corporate & Investment Banking, and Wealth Management & Insurance, with payments activities housed under PagoNxt and a standalone digital platform via Openbank. Results have benefited from higher interest rates and volume growth, with the bank reporting record attributable profit in 2023 of roughly €11 billion, a mid‑teens return on tangible equity and a fully loaded CET1 capital ratio in the low‑12% area; liquidity metrics (LCR/NSFR) remained above regulatory minimums and the group carries investment‑grade ratings from major agencies. Funding combines a large retail deposit base with covered bonds and senior/non‑preferred issuance to meet MREL/TLAC, alongside AT1 capital instruments; the stated shareholder remuneration framework targets roughly a 50% payout split between cash dividends and share buybacks, subject to regulatory and corporate approvals. Key risk drivers include consumer finance credit costs, exposure to currency and macro cycles in Brazil, Mexico and the UK, interest‑rate normalization, and regulatory developments (for example, the UK review of historical motor finance discretionary commission arrangements and Spain’s temporary bank levy); the group has previously incurred regulatory fines in the UK related to financial crime controls. Governance is led by an executive chair (Ana Botín) and a group CEO (Héctor Grisi), with an ongoing strategy centered on capital discipline, cost efficiency, simplification of product and IT stacks, and growth in payments and digital channels while maintaining a diversified geographic footprint.