What company is Santander
Banco Santander, S.A. is the Spanish company heading Santander Group. Its Spanish tax identification number is A39000013 and its Banco de España register code is 0049. This profile covers the consolidated group: the parent bank, subsidiaries and activities included in its accounts, with reporting boundaries identified for individual figures. The Santander brand identifies businesses in different countries; local entities retain their own legal identities. Sources: Banco Santander legal notice; Identity and offices: 2025 accounts, note 1.
Its registered office is at Paseo de Pereda, 9–12, 39004 Santander, Cantabria. Its principal offices are at Ciudad Grupo Santander, Avenida de Cantabria s/n, 28660 Boadilla del Monte, Madrid. The city of origin and legal domicile and the Madrid corporate centre therefore serve different functions. Sources: Identity and offices: 2025 accounts, note 1.
From port commerce to an international group
Santander traces its origins to 1857: a royal decree of 15 May authorised the bank, linked to trade between the port of Santander and the Americas. This is the founding milestone used in its corporate history. Subsequent growth combined its own banking operations with acquisitions and mergers; its foundation should not be attributed to present-day members of the Botín family. Sources: Santander corporate history.
Milestones shaping its present scale include the acquisition of Banesto in 1994, the merger with Banco Central Hispano in 1999 and the addition of Abbey in November 2004, expanding its UK presence. Its Madrid central services had moved to Ciudad Santander in April 2004. These developments explain why the group brings together networks and entities with different histories. Sources: Santander corporate history.
Ownership and interpreting shareholdings
Santander is a listed company. Its governance report identifies voting rights of 6.861% notified by BlackRock at 31 December 2025, including shares and financial instruments. The note explains that this position is held on behalf of third parties, none individually exceeding 3%. It does not mean BlackRock beneficially owns that entire position itself. Sources: Significant shareholders at 31 December 2025.
The report also distinguishes registered custodians from the investors on whose behalf they hold shares. Adding asset-manager and custodian positions would therefore create double counting. These figures relate to the end of 2025; they are not a daily ownership snapshot or evidence of majority ownership by a family. Sources: Significant shareholders at 31 December 2025.
Leadership and governance
Corporate information checked on 8 November 2026 identifies Ana Botín as executive chair and Héctor Grisi as chief executive officer. These are distinct responsibilities, and group leadership positions should not be confused with those at national banks. The board and its committees form part of the bank’s system for overseeing risk, audit, appointments and remuneration. Sources: Corporate governance and current leadership.
Businesses, brands and geographic reach
Its activities combine retail and commercial banking, consumer finance and digital banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth management and insurance, and payment solutions. In 2025 its five global businesses were named Retail & Commercial Banking, Digital Consumer Bank, Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and Payments. Openbank is part of the group; its brand and digital bank are not a separate parent of Santander. Sources: 2025 business model.
The 2025 reporting scope covers operations in Europe and the Americas, including Spain, the UK, Portugal, Poland, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and the United States, alongside European consumer finance. Year-end reporting showed 180.2 million total customers, a measure distinct from active customers. There were 198,403 employees, including Santander Polska. These historical figures do not include acquisitions completed in 2026. Sources: 2025 occupational health and safety indicators; Year-end 2025 workforce.
What changed in 2026
The sale of the controlling stake in Santander Bank Polska was completed in January 2026. The February announcement changed financial reporting from the first quarter and renamed Digital Consumer Bank as Openbank and Payments as Payment Solutions, alongside reallocations between businesses. Renaming a reporting segment does not make all its activities the same legal entity as the bank using that brand. Sources: Reporting changes from 2026.
Santander completed its acquisition of TSB in the UK on 30 April 2026 and of Webster Financial in the United States on 20 August, the latter through Santander Holdings USA. Both transactions were completed by the review date. Their integration changes the group’s scale and organisational needs, but is not added retrospectively to the income or workforce reported for 2025. Sources: TSB acquisition completion, 30 April 2026; Webster acquisition completion, 20 August 2026.
2025 figures and the banking income measure
The full reporting year runs from 1 January to 31 December 2025. Statutory consolidated total income was €58,670 million, from continuing operations. This banking income measure combines net interest income, net fees and other financial and operating results. It does not represent industrial sales, assets under management, deposits or the value of loans granted. Sources: 2025 consolidated results.
The 2025 management presentation shows €62,390 million: it includes, line by line, Poland’s €3,720 million of total income, which statutory reporting treats within discontinued operations. The reconciliation explains this difference; the two measures must not be added together. Profit attributable to the parent was €14,101 million and includes discontinued operations. Its reporting scope therefore does not exactly match that of total income from continuing operations. Sources: Statutory and management results reconciliation.
Technology transformation and work
ONE Transformation combines a common operating model with shared platforms. According to the 2025 report, Gravity, its own core banking technology, was fully implemented in Spain, Mexico and Chile. The global app was available in Brazil and Spain and being rolled out in Mexico and Chile. These are documented implementation stages for that reporting year, not a claim that the entire group already used one platform. Sources: ONE Transformation and Gravity in 2025.
From an occupational prevention perspective, new tools and procedures require attention to workstation design, training and conditions of use. This is an editorial interpretation of technology change, not a health outcome demonstrated for Gravity. The report connects it to a specific practice: prevention through design for new workspaces and tools within the group’s occupational risk plans. Sources: Employee prevention and wellbeing.
How it describes its prevention management
Santander reports a general health, safety and wellbeing policy applying to its subsidiaries and implemented under local rules. In 2025 it monitored adherence to global health policies in 18 countries representing 98.5% of employees. This percentage describes the reported monitoring coverage; it is not ISO 45001 certification coverage or, by itself, proof of system effectiveness. Sources: Employee prevention and wellbeing.
Plans are reviewed with employee representatives and include periodic assessments, postural measures, preventive design of workspaces and tools, emergency and evacuation arrangements, first-aid training and accident investigation. The report also describes periodic medical checks and checks following extended absence. Its relevance to OSH lies in these identifiable practices and the involvement of employee safety representatives, beyond the general label of a wellbeing programme. Sources: Employee prevention and wellbeing.
Accidents: results and comparison limits
For its own employees, Santander reported 633 accidents in 2025, compared with 950 in 2024, and a lost-time work accident rate of 1.12 per million theoretical working hours, compared with 1.64. It reported zero deaths from occupational accidents or illness and 22 occupational illnesses. These company-reported workforce figures cannot automatically be extended to contractors or the entire supply chain. Sources: 2025 occupational health and safety indicators.
The methodology includes commuting accidents where recognised by local legislation. Brazil counts only accidents causing absence of at least 15 days; the United States is excluded from accident ratios because its local system is not integrated. Santander Polska accounted for 7.1% of total accidents in 2025. The aggregate reduction does not establish the same trend in every country or identify its cause. These rules matter when comparing with other banks or with periods after the Polish disposal. Sources: 2025 occupational health and safety indicators.
BeHealthy and cardiovascular research
In 2025 BeHealthy covered four dimensions: physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing. More than 50,000 employees participated in a local activity, according to the report. This measures participation, not reductions in stress, cardiovascular disease or absence. Health promotion and access to support complement management of working conditions; they do not replace occupational risk assessment. Sources: Employee prevention and wellbeing.
Its CNIC partnership provides a specific research example. PESA began in 2010 and investigates atherosclerosis before symptoms appear; PESA-Health extends follow-up of the original cohort. Santander reports that REACT started in 2025 and offered 8,000 employees and family members an opportunity to participate. That figure describes the participation opportunity reported by the bank, not proof that everyone had enrolled or that a definitive clinical outcome had been established. Sources: CNIC: PESA-Health and REACT clinical research; REACT and work-life balance in 2025.
Finance and social impact
The 2025 sustainability review reports €174 billion of green finance raised and facilitated since 2019. This is a cumulative volume under the group’s methodology, not a 2025-only figure or a measure of avoided emissions. It also reports 6.3 million new people reached through financial inclusion measures since 2023 and microfinance supporting 1.8 million underbanked entrepreneurs in Latin America. Sources: Green finance and inclusion: 2025 review.
These measures describe financial activity and programme reach. Assessing environmental or social impact also requires eligibility criteria, project monitoring and outcomes. They are not used here as certification of every group loan or evidence that financed companies have no environmental risks. Sources: Green finance and inclusion: 2025 review.
Challenges when interpreting the case
Acquisitions and disposals make it particularly important to retain the country, reporting year and population behind each indicator. Integrating TSB and Webster and disposing of the controlling Polish stake change the baseline for future comparisons. The group identifies acquisition, integration and disposal execution among its risks, alongside regulatory changes, economic conditions and cybersecurity incidents. Sources: Reporting changes from 2026; TSB acquisition completion, 30 April 2026; Webster acquisition completion, 20 August 2026.
The prevention lesson is to distinguish policies, actions and outcomes. An available programme does not establish effective coverage for every worker; high participation does not prove a clinical benefit; and an aggregate rate requires its denominator and exclusions. Santander provides specific documentation for these distinctions, but public reporting cannot certify conditions at each office or establish that a particular initiative caused the reduction in accidents. Sources: Employee prevention and wellbeing; 2025 occupational health and safety indicators.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Santander headquartered?
Banco Santander, S.A. is registered at Paseo de Pereda, 9–12, Santander. Its principal offices are at Ciudad Grupo Santander, Boadilla del Monte, Madrid. Sources: Identity and offices: 2025 accounts, note 1.
Which income figure is used for 2025?
Statutory consolidated total income from continuing operations: €58,670 million. The management presentation’s €62,390 million includes Poland line by line. Assets and deposits are not used as turnover. Sources: Statutory and management results reconciliation.
What is BeHealthy?
It is Santander’s global wellbeing programme. In 2025 it covered physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing and reported over 50,000 participants in local activities. Participation is not proof of a clinical outcome. Sources: Employee prevention and wellbeing.
Can its accident rate be directly compared with another company’s?
Only after checking definitions. The 2025 rate measures lost-time accidents per million theoretical hours, excludes the United States and uses a minimum 15-day absence threshold in Brazil. It covers the bank’s own employees. Sources: 2025 occupational health and safety indicators.
