The World Madrid

Madrid

Updated Friday, March 22, 2024-11:26

The executive president of Banco Santander,

Ana Botín

, has advanced that 2024 will be a "quite better" year than 2023 for the bank, while also advancing that the bank's net profit will exceed 12,000 million euros.

"I have great confidence in closing 2024 much better than 2023, which was already a great year, and that we will meet our objectives for the year," said Botín during his initial intervention at the general meeting of shareholders of Banco Santander

,

which It is celebrated this Friday.

"The bank plans to allocate

more than 6,000 million euros in

cash dividends and share buybacks charged to 2024 results," Botín emphasized. Santander has a payout of 50%, in accordance with its current remuneration policy, so to distribute more than 6,000 million in shareholder remuneration it needs to register net profits of more than 12,000 million euros.

Botín has announced that so far this year, the bank has increased its number of clients by two million and that income has registered an increase of 9% compared to last year.

The president of Santander has indicated that costs have now been flat for three quarters, which, together with the impact on costs and income of the ongoing transformation, will allow "a continuous improvement in the efficiency ratio, up to 42.7%", with which the bank expects to close the first quarter.

"The cost of risk will be in line with our forecasts for the year thanks to an improvement in Europe, neutralized by the impact of portfolio growth in Latin America, and the expected normalization in the Consumer business. The capital ratio remains above 12%, in line with the 2024 objective," Botín added.

Regarding profitability, Botín expects the return on tangible capital (RoTE) to reach 16% for the group as a whole in the first quarter. The bank will achieve this figure by annualizing the impact of the banking tax, which has been fully recorded in January 2024.

Regarding taxes in general, Botín has emphasized the positive aspects of earning money for the public coffers: "The best way to collect more is

for companies to make a profit

, which allows for increased investment and generation of more employment. It is good that companies make a profit," he said.

"There is no conflict between obtaining profits and contributing to a more fair and inclusive society. On the contrary. Business profits allow for greater investment, growth and employment, which in turn allows financing public services," he added.

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

In her initial speech, the president of the bank also reviewed the macro panorama. She has indicated that it is "key" to improve the competitiveness of Europe and European companies to improve the relative position vis-à-vis China and the United States.

"It is urgent that the public and private sectors work hand in hand to improve the competitive position of European companies," said Botín. In the specific case of Spain, he has indicated that the bank "is prepared to collaborate in the distribution" of European funds so that they have greater reach in the business community.

Botín has also focused on

Brazil

, and has highlighted that it is on its way to being an 'investment grade' country. "When that happens, there will be an economic and geopolitical revolution in the global economy," he said. In 2024, Santander will achieve its best historical results in Brazil in local currency.

Regarding the

United States

, the executive has indicated that the bank has "the scale, the strategy and the team to compete and grow profitably, creating value." In this market, the bank plans to launch a digital deposit-taking solution in the second half of 2024 with Openbank.

"This step will open a new stage for Santander in the United States, where we see a great opportunity to grow profitably, taking advantage of the scale and innovation of our digital platform, to reach 15% of RoTE in 2025," Botín stressed. .