Annual Report 2007 - Santander

PROFIT BEFORE TAXES*BY BUSINESSESTHE SANTANDER BUSINESS MODEL:A GLOBAL, EFFICIENT, PROFITABLEBANK, CLOSE TO ITS CUSTOMERSGLOBAL WHOLESALEBANKING: 16%ASSET MANAGEMENTAND INSURANCE: 4%RETAIL BANKING UNITEDKINGDOM (ABBEY): 14%RETAIL BANKINGCONTINENTALEUROPE: 43%RETAIL BANKING LATIN AMERICA: 23%RETAIL BANKING: 84%*Excluding extraordinary gains and extraordinary writedowns/allowances.The pillars of Banco Santander’s business model are retail banking, geographicdiversification, prudent risk management, efficiency and capital discipline.RETAIL BANKINGThe internationalbank with themost branchesRetail banking generates 86% ofBanco Santander’s revenue; this makes itsresults very stable and recurrent.Santander has the largest retail bankingnetwork among international banks. Its11,178 branches (more than 13,000including Banco Real in Brazil), provide 65million customers with innovative productsand services tailored to meet the needs ofdifferent markets. The objective is toprovide excellent service to increase levelsof customer satisfaction and linkage. This,in turn, enables us to establish lastingrelationships.The Bank has more than 131,000employees. Its human resources policy isaimed at attracting, motivating, trainingand retaining the best international talent.DIVERSIFICATIONBalanced betweenmature andemergingmarketsBanco Santander is present in over 40countries, balanced between mature andhigh-growth emerging markets. Thiscombination enables us to achieve highrevenue and profit growth throughoutthe whole economic cycle.The Bank has high market shares inEurope and Latin America’s mainmarkets. Furthermore, the globalbusiness areas and their capacity togenerate synergies amoung countriesensure that the Group is worth morethan the sum of its parts.PRUDENT RISK MANAGEMENT AND MAXIMUM TRANSPARENCY18A Bank with alow, predictablerisk profileGrupo Santander’s risk policy isprudent and strict. It uses the mostadvanced models which, together withits focus on retail banking, give it a lowand predictable risk profile.Retail banking accounts for 91% ofSantander’s total credit risk and the volumeof high-risk operations or those outside itsmain markets is marginal.The Bank also informs the market aboutits strategy, results and objectives withtransparency and in a timely fashion.