Santander, established in 1857, is the leading financial institution in Spain and Latin America,number one in the Euro zone,and the twelfthlargest bank in the world in terms of market capitalization.

Santander´s values are the pillars on which one of the top banks in the world has been built: a commitment to leadership, dynamism and flexibility,financial strength,commercial innovation and drive,and professional ethics.

Santander has more than 68 million customers and 11,000 branches, the largest global retail banking distribution network in the Western world. It aspires to be leader in commercial innovation, customer service and banking efficiency.

Its activity is focused on retail banking in which it leads the market in Europe and Latin America.It has two retail banking networks in Spain, Santander and Banesto, and one bank specializing in private banking, Banif. In Portugal, Santander Totta is the second-largest private bank in terms of profit, and in the United Kingdom, Abbey, is the leading bank for mortgages and its experiencing strong growth in other business such as current accounts.

In Latin America is the leading bank in Brazil,Mexico and Chile. It is also involved in global business such as: Santander Global Banking & Markets, Private Banking, Asset Management, Payment Systems, Insurance, and Santander Consumer Finance,which is the leader in consumer finance in Europe.

In the last ten years,Santander has set up a university-business alliance that is unique in the world.Its commitment to universities has become one of the Group's distinguishing features,in the belief that this is the bestway of contributing to progress in the countries where it operates.