Spanish banking giant Santander under its new executive chairperson, Ana Botin, announced earlier this week the purchase of the remaining 25% of Banco Santander Brasil which it did not already own.
Shareholders approved the capital raising for the deal, with the purchase expected to be worth around US$ 6.5 billion. Santander group is paying the market price plus 20 per cent for the shares.
Ana Botin, told shareholders at an extraordinary meeting she would defend the legacy of her father Emilio Botin at the helm of the Euro zone’s biggest bank. She said the bank’s priorities included maintaining a prudent strategy and dividend policy.
Appointed last week, after the sudden death of her father Emilio, the chairperson also said she would push ahead with the international diversification of the lender. The Brazilian expansion was an early move in Emilio Botin’s 30 years at the top.
At the meeting in Santander, northern Spain, Ana Botin said prudent risk-taking, focus on clients and retail banking, and the capacity to take advantage of acquisition opportunities had been Emilio Botin’s management achievements.
“My ambition is to continue this success story, to which I will dedicate my greatest efforts,” she said.
Ms Botin also pointed out that the Spanish lender’s strong national units, most of them listed, were a strength that would deliver future growth.
Ana Botin confirmed Santander was seeing positive earnings trends for 2014. “As we come to the end of the third quarter, I can tell you that the positive trends in the group’s results are continuing,” she stated.
Santander is the leading bank in Latin America and its activity in the region represents 51% of the group’s earnings, over US$ 2 billion in the first half of 2014.
The main branches are in Brazil and Mexico, two of the group’s jewels, and to a lesser extent Chile and Argentina. Brazil with its 27.3 million clients is strategic and its affiliate Santander Brasil is the third largest private bank and the first foreign bank.
In Mexico Santander is third among banking institutions, with an estimated 10 million clients.
Mercopress
