Highlights from the Santander 2008
Annual General Shareholder Meeting
Click here for full information from the AGM
The Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday, June 21st at the
Santander Conference Centre. One of the key highlights of the
meeting was Chairman, Emilio Botín's announcement that the bank
aims to exceed 10 Billion Euros in total profit for 2008 Click here to find out more
Another key highlight involved shareholders approval of the Board of Directors´ proposal to distribute a dividend of 0.65 Euros/share on 2007 profits, representing annual dividend growth of 25% for the third year in a row.
The Chairman, Emilio Botín began his address by referring to the turbulent economic environment that challenged the Bank's activities in 2007, calling it “a situation that nobody expected to occur so soon and the most difficult one seen by a whole generation of bankers.” However, he pointed out the great strength of the Bank and its ability to step ahead of the competition thanks to its focus on commercial banking, prudent risk management, cost control, capital discipline and strong liquidity management.
An optimistic view of the Bank’s future
Mr. Botín affirmed that Santander is well prepared for the future and oulined Santander's four main strategic priorities
- Use of technology to continue improving efficiency.
- Maximization of the advantages of Santander’s global position.
- Strict risk management.
- Continued improvements in the quality of customer service.
“We maintain the earnings-per-share growth targets we announced to the market in September 2007”, said the Chairman. He has no doubt that Santander’s market “share price has yet to take into account the Bank’s immense potential to generate recurring profits in the medium term.”
During his intervention the Chairman took the opportunity to recognise the efforts of the employees: “Santander’s profits over the past years are the best indicator of the quality and professionalism of all our teams,” whom he thanked for “their great dedication and effort.”
Profits, ABN AMRO and future potential
Alfredo Sáenz, Chief Executive Officer, explained that Santander’s strong stock market performance compared to its international competitors is due to three factors: “Our high profits, the success of the acquisition of ABN AMRO, and, most importantly, our inmense future potential.”
Regarding the future outlook, Alfredo Sáez highlighted that the Bank is very well positioned to continue growing. “Experience has taught me that the low points in economic cycles actually provide excellent opportunities for the most solid and best-managed banks. Our profits will continue to top those of our competitors, both in terms of quality and quantity:
- In the Continental Europe commercial banking business, we will offset lower volume growth with better margins and efficiency.
- In Abbey we are improving margins and gaining market share. We continue to have opportunities for further improvement in efficiency and market share in SMEs and the credit/debit card business.
- In Latin America, we will continue to benefit from the exponential effect of strong growth in the region and the rise in “bancarisation”.
- In wholesale banking, growth will be more selective, with higher margins. Our business will be focused on customers and on lower-risk and higher recurrence operations.”
Main resolutions of the Annual General Meeting
- Distribution of a dividend of €0.65/share on 2007 profits. Half of ordinary profits have been distributed as dividends.
- Approval of the 2007 annual accounts.
- Approval of the new long-term incentive plans for executives, based on the Bank’s performance in terms of shareholder return and earnings per share.
Three reasons why 2.3 million shareholders place their trust in
Banco Santander
- Dividends rose 25% for the third consecutive year, placing total shareholder return for 2007 at 8.5%, which is significantly higher than in other international banks.
- Earnings per share have more than doubled since 2003 (2.6 times greater).
- In the past decade, attributed profit and earnings per share rose at a cumulative yearly rate of 25.7% and 15.5%, respectively.
ABN AMRO: a great move for our shareholders
- The acquisition will have a positive impact on earnings per share beginning this year, and an estimated 18% return on investment within three years.
- The operation has been financed as efficiently as possible, and no capital issue was necessary.
- The Bank strengthens its position in Brazil, becoming the second-largest bank in terms of deposits and the third-largest in terms of loans, and in the consumer financing business in Europe.
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