Banco Santander, S.A. is a bank holding company. Santander operates principally in Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, other European countries, Latin America and the United States, offering a range of financial products. Santander is organized in three principal segments: Continental Europe, United Kingdom and Latin America. Continental Europe covers all retail banking business, wholesale banking and asset management and insurance conducted in Europe, with the exception of the United Kingdom. It also includes the units, such as the Santander Branch Network, Banco Espanol de Credito, S.A., Santander Consumer Finance and Portugal. United Kingdom includes retail and wholesale banking, asset management and insurance conducted by the various units and branches of the Bank in the United Kingdom. Latin America segment includes activities conducted via its subsidiary banks and other subsidiaries in Latin America.



Owner of On-line bank Cahoot, Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester, Bradford & Bingley.
Shares in issue (Aug '09) 1,853.22m
Market cap (Aug '09) €15,984m
Also listed XETRA:BSD2
4 Dividends paid Aug, Nov, Feb, May.
http://www.santander.com/

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StockMarketWire.com
Banco Santander has acquired 100% of the share capital of Banco Popular Espanol following a competitive sale process.

Banco Santander said the sale was organised under a framework established for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms. As part of the execution of the resolution scheme:

(i) all the shares of Banco Popular outstanding at the closing of market yesterday and all the shares resulting from the conversion of the regulatory capital instruments Additional Tier 1 issued by Banco Popular have been totally cancelled

(ii) all the regulatory capital instruments Tier 2 issued by Banco Popular have been converted into newly issued shares of Banco Popular, all of which have been acquired for a price of one euro (€1).

Santander plans to axe a fifth of its UK branch network