Santa Claus apparently is Spanish bank Santander which deposited £130m into 75,000 accounts on 25 December. Santander's staff are now rushing to recover the money, although the job is being made more difficult because much of it was deposited in accounts at rival banks, according to The Times.
Spanish-owned bank Santander is slashing its branch network by almost a fifth, putting 1,270 jobs at risk. The bank blamed the closures on changes in how customers are choosing to carry out their banking. It said branch transactions have fallen 23% in the last three years, while digital transactions have soared 99%.
Spanish Banco Popular has been rescued from the brink of collapse by larger rival Santander for one Euro. Buying Banco Popular will cost Santander 7bn euros, around 2bn euros more than analysts had expected. Banco Popular was described by the European Central Bank as failing or likely to fail due to its dwindling cash reserves.The bank has struggled after billions in property investments turned sour.
Banco Santander has announced plans to invest 15 billion pesos ($735 million) in Mexico over the next three years despite market uncertainty as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration draws nearer.
Banco Santander Rio CEO Enrique Cristofani also believes the economy will grow next year by 4% in a context that offers great opportunities to the country.
The UK has become Santander's most profitable market, generating just over a fifth of the bank's profits in the first half of 2015. Pre-tax profits in the UK rose £74m to £928m, while revenues were up 5%. The results eclipsed the €1bn (£700m) posted by the Spanish bank's Brazilian operation, which saw its revenues jump by 9%.
Spain's Santander and Deutsche Bank have failed a US stress test designed to assess whether lenders can withstand another financial crisis. The review, carried out by the Federal Reserve, gauges whether the biggest banks operating in the US have the ability to lend to households and businesses even in times of stress.
Spain's Santander, the biggest bank in Europe by market value, reshuffled its command naming Jose Antonio Alvarez as its new chief executive replacing Javier Marin after his two years in the job, the bank said in a statement.
Spanish banking giant Santander under its new executive chairperson Ana Botin announced on Monday the purchase of the remaining 25% of Banco Santander Brasil which it did not already own.
Emilio Botin, El Presidente to co-workers and the third generation of Botins to run Santander, was at the forefront of a drive to create global banks, offering a one-stop shop to multinational companies and a range of services to consumers.