Santander

Secure face-to-face payments are critical across many industries. Yet, in Latin America, there was no Point-to-Point Encryption standard that met the highest industry requirements. Meliá Hotels International faced this challenge in its card-present payments, and Getnet took it on, turning it into a reality and becoming the first payment company in the region with the P2PE certification. As Gaspar Llabrés, Credit & Insurance Senior Director at Meliá, explains in this short video, this matters because it makes payments safer and simpler. Card data is protected from the very first moment, reducing risk and complexity for merchants, while customers benefit from faster, smoother transactions and greater confidence that their personal information is secure. And this doesn’t stop with hotels. We are already working to scale this solution across the wider travel, retail and restaurant ecosystem.

Santander’s 2025 record results clearly reflect the strength of our global businesses, but also how effectively they are working together. Across Retail, Consumer, CIB, Wealth and Payments, we are leveraging our scale and global platforms to create value, not business by business, but as one integrated Group. This is disciplined execution in action. #ONETransformation has moved from plan to delivery, unlocking efficiencies and economies of scale that improve customer offering while lowering cost-to-serve. As a result, our cost-to-income ratio has improved from 45.8% to 41.2% in just three years. The announcement today of our acquisition of Webster Bank in the US is a further demonstration of our commitment to this market, significantly increasing our scale and profitability in the most attractive banking market in the world. The US is a core part of our strategy, and it has strong connectivity with the rest of our Latin America and Europe franchises. This is a conviction we have reiterated time and again, and that we continue to back with decisive, strategic action. None of this happens by chance. It is the result of the dedication of our teams and their ability to deliver today while building the Santander of tomorrow. Congratulations to all on a truly outstanding year.

2025 has been an incredible year for Santander. Once again, we have delivered record results, marking the fourth consecutive year of profitable growth. We added eight million new customers, surpassing 180 million globally, increased earnings per share by 17%, and achieved a RoTE of 16.3% with revenues up and costs down. These results demonstrate the strength of our #ONETransformation strategy. Today, we also announced an exciting step forward for Santander and our customers in the United States: an agreement to acquire Webster Bank. Webster is one of the most efficient and profitable banks among its peers. Bringing together two highly complementary franchises will expand the products, technology and capabilities we can deliver with clear revenue opportunities from a stronger, more capable combined franchise. This transaction is strategically significant for our U.S. business, while remaining a bolt-on for the overall Group. It allows us to strengthen our franchise in both scale and profitability and puts us on track to deliver around 18% RoTE in the U.S. by 2028, among the top five for profitability within the 25 largest U.S. commercial banks. It will also support the Group’s target of above 20% RoTE by 2028. Importantly, we can achieve this while maintaining all our shareholder remuneration commitments, including the €5 billion share buyback we approved today and our broader distribution commitments. The transaction delivers meaningful, tangible value for the Group and our shareholders, with around 7–8% earnings accretion and an approximate 15% return on invested capital. The consideration is based on a balanced mix of cash and stock which enhances EPS accretion for Santander shareholders while also allowing Webster shareholders to benefit in the combined upside. This value creation is supported by combined cost savings—including delivery of our Santander U.S. organic plan—together with clear revenue opportunities from a stronger, more capable combined franchise. Webster also brings a top-notch and proven management team, led by John Ciulla, which de-risks integration and accelerates execution from day one, with Christiana Riley continuing as Country Head for the US and Tim Ryan as Chair. Huge thanks to our teams—and to our customers and shareholders—for your continued support and trust. I look forward to providing a full update on our strategy and priorities at our Investor Day on February 25th. https://lnkd.in/dSvBhmB5

Today, we announce that Mahesh Aditya will become CEO of Santander UK, effective March 1st, replacing Mike Regnier. Following this appointment, Pedro Castro e Almeida will become Group Chief Risk Officer, and Isabel Guerreiro will be appointed CEO of Santander Portugal. Mahesh and Isabel are proven and highly respected leaders who exemplify Santander’s culture, while Pedro’s understanding of the group’s businesses and disciplined approach to risk makes him the right choice to lead the group’s risk function at this point. These changes demonstrate the depth of our bench of top management team and succession planning discipline, as well as our continued focus on delivering consistently our strategy and creating long-term value. Congrats, Mahesh. And parabéns, Isabel and Pedro. Well deserved!

La semana pasada homenajeamos a Paco Solé en la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), de la que fue vicerrector, catedrático y donde también se doctoró. Gracias al rector Francesc Torres, a Sònia Martínez Vivas, a Susana y a Javier Monzón por hacer posible este reconocimiento.