• Banking: These are the 176 branches that Banco Santander closes today

Santander Bank has carried out a review of the goodwill attached to its British subsidiary that results in an impairment of approximately 1,500 million euros, which accuses the difficult regulatory environment and the uncertainty generated by Brexit in economic growth from the United Kingdom, the entity reported.

Specifically, the adjustment, which will have an impact on the attributed profit, is mainly due to the change in expectations for Santander UK as a result of a complex regulatory environment, among other reasons due to the different negative effects of the regulation that obliges banks to separate the retail banking business from the investment banking.

The regulatory change has led to an increase in assets in the London branch of the Spanish parent company of approximately 40,000 million euros (of which 25,000 million are from an initial transfer of assets from Santander UK), as well as an increase in costs to Some functions are duplicated, which in turn has led to a decrease in the capacity to generate benefits for Santander UK, according to the entity.

The adjustment is also a result of the increase in competitive pressure in the United Kingdom and the impact of the uncertainty generated by Brexit on the country's economic growth. The accounting note of the sanitation will be made in the consolidated accounts of the group in the third quarter of 2019.

Although it will have an impact on the attributed profit , it will not affect its ordinary result, the tangible book value per share of the group or its commitments to customers. Nor will it affect the CET1 capital ratio of Banco Santander, since goodwill is excluded from its calculation, the generation of cash flows or the medium-term objectives announced at Investor Day held on April 3 in London.

On the other hand, the Board of Directors of Banco Santander approved on Tuesday the first dividend charged to the results of 2019 for a total amount of 0.10 euros per share, which will be paid in full in cash from next November 1 . The amount is equal to what was paid a year ago between August (0.065 euros) and November (0.035 euros).

As announced in 2018, from this year the shareholders of the entity will receive the dividend in two payments instead of the four they received so far. The last trading day of the action entitled to the collection of said dividend will be October 29 and will be quoted ex-dividend on October 30.

In addition, the board has confirmed its intention to maintain a percentage of the ordinary attributed benefit of 2019 that is dedicated to the dividend ('payout') between 40% and 50%, and that the proportion of the cash dividend be at least the same amount as last year.

The president of Banco Santander, Ana Botín, stressed that the dividend announced on Tuesday "is a sign of the strength and resilience of the Santander business model." "Despite some adverse market factors, especially in the United Kingdom, our unique diversification in Europe and America has allowed us to achieve predictable results, give a dividend per share in sustainable cash, which has grown 174% in the last five years, and to obtain an increase of the income of clients of more than 20% and of the attributed profit of 87%, "he added.

"In the last five years, we have increased capital by a total of 25,000 million euros. Although the reforms that force the separation of the retail banking business and Brexit have affected profitability in the United Kingdom, this market remains key and we are investing significantly to improve our competitive position and serve our customers even better, "he added.

INCORPORATION TO THE COUNCIL

In addition, the appointments committee of Banco Santander has proposed the incorporation of Pamela Walkden to the board as an independent director.

Walkden, a British banker, will join after a long career in the financial sector in which he has held positions of responsibility, primarily at Standard Chartered Bank, where he worked for almost 30 years as head of risk, internal audit or treasury. He has also been an independent member of the regulatory reform panel of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) of the United Kingdom and of the Stakeholder Group of the European Banking Authority.

Pamela Walkden will fill the vacancy left by Carlos Fernández, who has been an independent director since 2015. His appointment will be effective when the corresponding authorizations have been received, and will be subject to ratification at the next general meeting of shareholders of Banco Santander.

The board of directors of Banco Santander will be composed of 15 members, of which 60% are independent directors. With the appointment of Pamela Walkden, 40% of the board will be female, so that Santander achieves its goal of having between 40% and 60% of the board represented by either gender. The Santander council is diverse in gender, nationality (Spanish, British, American and Portuguese) and has a broad representation of sectors (financial, industrial, technological and academic).

Botín, who expressed his sincere thanks to Carlos Fernández, stressed that Pamela Walkden "has the ideal profile for the Banco Santander board and I am delighted with his incorporation." "He will bring a lot of complementary financial experience with the current board, since he has a long history in the banking sector in managerial positions of business and control. In addition, Pamela as British and woman adds diversity, which represents one of our most relevant strengths and a key aspect for the success of any board of directors in the current environment. I am sure that Pamela will provide valuable advice in this new stage of strategic transformation, "he stressed.

Santander also announced Tuesday that the board has approved the appointment of Marjolein van Hellemondt-Gerdingh as responsible for Compliance of the Group, which will be effective once regulatory approvals are obtained. It comes from DLL International BV, Eindhoven (a subsidiary of the Rabobank Group), where since January 2018 it was responsible for Compliance. A Dutch national, he previously worked at Zurich Insurance as Compliance Officer, and before at NN-Group (formerly ING Insurance / Investment Management Eurasia) with the same position. Hellemondt-Gerdingh, who will report to Keiran Foad, responsible for Group Risks, replaces Mónica López-Monís, recently appointed global head of Regulatory Affairs.

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