Annual report 2009 - Santander

31Santander Branch NetworkThe business model, focused on stable and lasting relations withcustomers, a continuous improvement in efficiency and prudentrisk management, enabled the Santander Branch Network topost an attributable profit of EUR 2,012 million (+5.5%), wellabove that of its competitors in Spain who, in some cases,produced lower profits.Attributable profitMillion euros2,0121,907+5.5%The Santander Branch Network has shown its power to attractand generate business in all spheres of activity, both lending,which is very important at this time of need by companies andindividuals, as well as deposits, as household savings increased.More than 330,000 loans were granted in 2009 for a totalof over EUR 50,000 million. A large part of these loans werechannelled via the programmes of the Official Credit Institute(ICO), where Santander was the leader during the whole yearwith a market share of more than 20% in this segment. Thebalance of customer funds increased 4.4%. All this, coupledwith control of costs, enabled the area’s contribution to theGroup’s net attributable profit to be 5.5% higher than in 2008,net interest income to increase 16% and the efficiency ratioto reach 39.4%.Efficiency%2008 200938.7 39.4The “We want to be your Bank” strategic plan, in its fourth year,continued to grow strongly. It attracted 500,000 new customersin 2009 and brought the total number of linked customers whopay no commissions to more than 4.2 million.The creation of a new business unit to recover loans, within thefunctional sphere of Banco Santander’s retail banking, played akey role in containing the volume of bad debts, as it controllednew entries and sought solutions so that customers could morecomfortably satisfy their financial obligations. Banco Santander’snon-performing loan ratio in Spain was only 3.41%, well belowthe sector’s average of 5.0%.CustomersMillions2008 20098.98.72008 2009Annual Report 2009