Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN): Análisis PESTLE [Actualizado en Ene-2025]

En el mundo dinámico de la banca global, Banco Santander, S.A. navega por un complejo panorama de desafíos y oportunidades que abarcan continentes y desafían los paradigmas financieros tradicionales. Desde las tensiones geopolíticas hasta las interrupciones tecnológicas, este análisis integral de mortero revela los intrincados factores externos que dan a una de las instituciones bancarias más prominentes de Europa. Prepárese para sumergirse profundamente en una exploración multifacética que revele cómo Santander responde estratégicamente a las presiones políticas, económicas, sociológicas, tecnológicas, legales y ambientales en un ecosistema financiero global cada vez más interconectado.

Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) - Análisis de mortero: factores políticos

Tensiones geopolíticas complejas que afectan las operaciones bancarias

Santander opera en 10 mercados clave con importantes desafíos geopolíticos, incluidos España, Brasil, México y el Reino Unido. Las tensiones políticas han impactado directamente las operaciones bancarias en estas regiones.

País	Índice de riesgo político (2024)	Impacto bancario potencial
Brasil	5.2/10	Alta incertidumbre regulatoria
México	4.8/10	Restricciones operativas moderadas
Reino Unido	7.5/10	Ajustes regulatorios posteriores a Brexit

Presiones regulatorias de la Directiva bancaria de la UE

Requisitos clave de cumplimiento regulatorio de la UE para Santander en 2024:

• Costos de implementación de Basilea III: 1.200 millones de euros
• Mantenimiento de la relación de adecuación de capital: 13.5%
• Inversiones obligatorias de seguridad bancaria digital: 450 millones de euros

Inestabilidad política en los mercados latinoamericanos

La cartera latinoamericana de Santander enfrenta una volatilidad política significativa, particularmente en Brasil y Argentina.

País	Índice de estabilidad política	Cuota de mercado de Santander
Brasil	4.3/10	18.5%
Argentina	3.7/10	12.3%
México	5.1/10	15.7%

Escrutinio del sector financiero gubernamental

El aumento del monitoreo regulatorio en todos los mercados requiere inversiones sustanciales de cumplimiento.

• Expansión del departamento de cumplimiento: aumento del 22% en el personal
• Inversión anual de tecnología de cumplimiento: 320 millones de euros
• Presupuesto regulatorio de mitigación de riesgos de multa: € 175 millones

Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) - Análisis de mortero: factores económicos

Entorno de tasa de interés volátil

A partir del cuarto trimestre de 2023, Banco Santander enfrentó un entorno de tasa de interés con las siguientes métricas clave:

Región	Tasa de interés	Cambio del trimestre anterior
Eurozona	4.50%	+0.25%
Brasil	11.25%	-0.50%
Reino Unido	5.25%	+0.25%

Desaceleración económica en los mercados clave

Rendimiento económico en los mercados centrales:

País	Crecimiento del PIB 2023	Crecimiento del PIB proyectado 2024
España	2.4%	1.6%
Brasil	3.1%	1.9%
Reino Unido	0.6%	0.8%

Presiones inflacionarias

Tasas de inflación en los mercados clave:

País	Tasa de inflación 2023	Inflación del núcleo
España	3.1%	2.9%
Brasil	4.6%	4.2%
Reino Unido	4.0%	5.1%

Riesgos de recesión económica

La exposición financiera de Banco Santander a la recesión potencial:

Métrico	Cantidad (€ millones)
Cartera de préstamos totales	1,023,456
Relación de préstamos sin rendimiento	3.2%
Disposiciones de pérdida de préstamo	12,345

Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) - Análisis de mortero: factores sociales

Cambiando las preferencias del consumidor hacia los servicios financieros de banca digital y móviles

A partir de 2024, Banco Santander informó 52.4 millones de clientes digitales en sus operaciones globales. Las transacciones bancarias móviles aumentaron por 37.2% en comparación con el año anterior. Las plataformas digitales del banco procesaron aproximadamente 1.200 millones de transacciones en 2023.

Métrica de banca digital	2024 estadísticas
Clientes digitales	52.4 millones
Crecimiento de transacciones móviles	37.2%
Transacciones digitales totales	1.200 millones

El envejecimiento de la población en los mercados europeos centrales que afectan el diseño de productos financieros

En España, el mercado local de Santander, la población de más de 65 años llegó 19.8% en 2024. El banco se desarrolló 37 productos financieros especializados dirigido a las personas mayores, con una inversión total de 214 millones de euros en soluciones financieras de jubilación y específicas de edad.

Métrico demográfico	2024 datos
Población de más de 65 años en España	19.8%
Productos financieros centrados en personas mayores	37 productos
Inversión en soluciones financieras para personas mayores	214 millones de euros

Creciente demanda de prácticas bancarias sostenibles y socialmente responsables

Santander cometido 120 mil millones de euros a finanzas sostenibles para 2025. En 2024, 42,7 mil millones de euros ya fue asignado a proyectos de impacto verde y social. 68% de los inversores institucionales prefirieron los productos financieros con clasificación ESG de Santander.

Métrica de sostenibilidad	2024 estadísticas
Compromiso de finanzas sostenibles totales	120 mil millones de euros
Asignación actual de proyectos verdes/sociales	42,7 mil millones de euros
Inversor institucional ESG Preference	68%

Aumento de las expectativas de los clientes para experiencias financieras personalizadas

Santander implementó Personalización impulsada por IA a través de sus plataformas, lo que resulta en 43% Mejora en la satisfacción del cliente. 276 millones de euros fue invertido en soluciones de tecnología financiera personalizada. 64% de los clientes utilizaron recomendaciones financieras personalizadas.

Métrico de personalización	2024 datos
Mejora de la satisfacción del cliente	43%
Inversión en tecnología de personalización	276 millones de euros
Clientes que utilizan recomendaciones personalizadas	64%

Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) - Análisis de mortero: factores tecnológicos

Inversiones significativas en transformación digital y soluciones bancarias impulsadas por IA

Banco Santander invirtió 4,3 mil millones de euros en transformación digital en 2023. El banco desplegó 4.500 soluciones de IA en sus operaciones globales, con un enfoque en el servicio al cliente y la eficiencia operativa.

Categoría de inversión digital	Monto de inversión (€)	Porcentaje del presupuesto tecnológico total
Tecnologías de IA	1.200 millones	28%
Plataformas de banca digital	1.500 millones	35%
Infraestructura de ciberseguridad	850 millones	20%
Computación en la nube	750 millones	17%

Desafíos de ciberseguridad para proteger los datos financieros del cliente e infraestructura digital

Santander detectó y evitó 15.230 incidentes cibernéticos en 2023, con una inversión de 850 millones de euros en tecnologías de seguridad cibernética. El banco implementó sistemas avanzados de detección de amenazas con una efectividad del 99.7%.

Métrica de ciberseguridad	2023 rendimiento
Incidentes cibernéticos totales	15,230
Incidentes prevenidos	15,200
Precisión de detección de amenazas	99.7%
Tasa de prevención de violación de datos	100%

Implementación de blockchain y tecnologías de aprendizaje automático en servicios financieros

Santander lanzó 37 servicios financieros basados ​​en Blockchain en 2023, con algoritmos de aprendizaje automático procesando más de 2.3 millones de transacciones de clientes diariamente.

Tecnología	Escala de implementación	Procesamiento de transacciones
Servicios de blockchain	37 plataformas activas	540,000 transacciones/semana
Aplicaciones de aprendizaje automático	126 casos de uso distintos	2.3 millones de transacciones/día

Expandir plataformas de banca digital para competir con FinTech Challengers

La plataforma de banca digital de Santander, una paga FX, procesó € 12.4 mil millones en transacciones transfronterizas en 2023, con 3.7 millones de usuarios de banca digital activa en sus mercados globales.

Métrica de banca digital	2023 rendimiento
Usuarios de banca digital activo	3.7 millones
Volumen de transacción transfronterizo	€ 12.4 mil millones
Descargas de aplicaciones de banca móvil	1.2 millones

Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) - Análisis de mortero: factores legales

Requisitos estrictos de cumplimiento regulatorio en múltiples jurisdicciones internacionales

Banco Santander opera en 10 mercados principales con distintos entornos regulatorios, que requieren estrategias integrales de cumplimiento legal.

País	Cuerpos reguladores	Costo de cumplimiento (2023)
España	Banco de España	187.3 millones de euros
Reino Unido	Autoridad de conducta financiera	£ 142.6 millones
Brasil	Banco Central de Brasil	R $ 423.7 millones
Estados Unidos	Reserva federal	$ 215.4 millones

Desafíos legales continuos relacionados con las prácticas financieras y la protección del consumidor.

Estadísticas de procedimientos legales para Santander (2023):

• Casos legales activos totales: 247
• Disposiciones legales totales estimadas: 1.200 millones de euros
• Reclamaciones de protección del consumidor: 89 casos
• Casos de investigación regulatoria: 53 casos

Aumento de los informes y las obligaciones de transparencia de los reguladores financieros

Requisito de informes	Frecuencia	Costo de cumplimiento
Informes de Basilea III	Trimestral	76.5 millones de euros
Informes contra el lavado de dinero	Mensual	43,2 millones de euros
Divulgaciones de gestión de riesgos	Semestral	32.7 millones de euros

Marcos legales transfronterizos complejos que afectan las operaciones bancarias internacionales

Métricas de cumplimiento regulatorio transfronterizo:

• Jurisdicciones transfronterizas totales: 14
• Marcos regulatorios únicos gestionados: 22
• Gasto anual de cumplimiento legal transfronterizo: 412.6 millones de euros
• Personal legal y de cumplimiento dedicado: 1.347 profesionales

Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) - Análisis de mortero: factores ambientales

Compromiso con las finanzas sostenibles y las estrategias de inversión verde

Banco Santander cometió € 120 mil millones en financiamiento e inversiones sostenibles para 2025. La cartera de financiamiento verde del banco alcanzó € 43.8 mil millones en 2023, lo que representa un aumento del 32% respecto al año anterior.

Métrica de finanzas sostenibles	Valor 2023	Año objetivo
Compromiso total de financiamiento sostenible	120 mil millones de euros	2025
Cartera de financiamiento verde	€ 43.8 mil millones	2023
Crecimiento interanual	32%	2022-2023

Reducción de la huella de carbono en las operaciones bancarias y las carteras de inversión

Santander tiene como objetivo reducir las emisiones operativas de carbono en un 70% para 2025, con emisiones actuales en 298,000 toneladas métricas de CO2 equivalente en 2023.

Métrica de emisión de carbono	Valor 2023	Objetivo	Año objetivo
Emisiones actuales de carbono	298,000 toneladas métricas CO2E	70% de reducción	2025

Apoyo a los proyectos de energía renovable a través de productos financieros especializados

Santander proporcionó € 12.5 mil millones en financiamiento de proyectos de energía renovable en 2023, con asignaciones específicas en sectores solar, eólico e hidroeléctrico.

Sector de energía renovable	Monto financiero (mil millones)
Energía solar	5.7
Energía eólica	4.3
Hidroeléctrico	2.5
Financiación total de energía renovable	12.5

Implementación de criterios ambientales, sociales y de gobernanza (ESG) en las decisiones de inversión

En 2023, el 78% de la cartera de inversiones de Santander incorporó criterios de ESG, con 215 mil millones de euros en activos elegidos por ESG.

Métrica de inversión de ESG	Valor 2023
Cartera con criterios de ESG	78%
Activos seleccionados por ESG	215 mil millones de euros

Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) - PESTLE Analysis: Social factors

Digital Adoption: 52.4 million digital customers, driving a shift from branch services.

The core social shift for Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) is the rapid move to digital banking, which fundamentally changes how customers interact with the bank. The bank's total customer base is substantial, reaching approximately 178 million as of the first nine months of 2025 (9M'25). The strategy is clear: become a digital bank with branches, not the other way around. This means the bank's long-term profitability hinges on strengthening those digital relationships, not just maintaining physical ones. Honestly, the branch is now a service center, not the primary touchpoint.

This digital focus is paying off in usage. The volume of transactions per active customer rose by a solid 6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), showing real engagement with the digital platforms. Openbank, the group's digital-only unit, is a key growth engine. In the US, a critical market, Openbank is on track to become a full-service digital bank by the end of 2025, following a successful launch that saw it gain over 100,000 customers in its first six months.

• Total customers: approx. 178 million (9M'25).
• Transaction volume per customer: up 6% (Q1 2025).
• US digital unit Openbank: on track for full-service by late 2025.

Aging populations in Europe, like Spain where over 19.8% of the population is over 65.

While the digital push is vital for future growth, the demographic reality in key European markets, especially the bank's home country, Spain, presents a unique social challenge. The population aged 65 and over in Spain stood at approximately 20.40% in late 2024, and this figure is only set to grow, with long-term forecasts predicting it will exceed 30% by 2055. This aging cohort often prefers, or requires, traditional in-branch service and can struggle with the rapid pace of digitalization. That's a significant portion of the customer base you simply can't ignore.

To mitigate the risk of financial exclusion (when people can't access essential financial services), Santander has taken concrete actions. They have extended branch opening hours and, importantly, created a dedicated 'senior ambassador' role in each branch. This is a smart, empathetic move that provides personalized assistance to the elderly, helping them with complex banking tasks and digital procedures without forcing a complete digital adoption. What this estimate hides is the true cost of maintaining a physical network for a shrinking, but high-value, segment.

Region/Demographic	Metric	Value (2024/2025)
Spain	Population Aged 65+	approx. 20.4%
Spain	Projected Population Aged 65+	30.5% by 2055
Santander Action	Support for Elderly	Dedicated 'senior ambassador' role in branches

Strong consumer demand for sustainable and socially responsible banking products.

Consumer and investor appetite for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria is defintely not a trend anymore; it's a mandate. Customers, particularly younger generations, are demanding that their bank acts as a responsible corporate citizen. Santander has responded by integrating sustainability deeply into its product offering and strategy, which is why the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) ranked it as the most sustainable bank in the world.

The bank has already surpassed its near-term green financing goals. They achieved their target of mobilising €120 billion in green financing between 2019 and 2025 a full 18 months ahead of schedule. Here's the quick math: they hit the 2025 target in mid-2023. So, they've already raised the bar, setting a new, ambitious goal to mobilize €220 billion in green financing by 2030. This commitment translates directly into consumer-facing products, including discounted sustainable loans for individuals and a range of ESG-focused investment funds.

Focus on financial inclusion and community support through Education, Employability, and Entrepreneurship.

Social license to operate is earned through action, and Santander focuses its community support on three pillars: Education, Employability, and Entrepreneurship. This is a crucial part of their Responsible Banking strategy. They set an original target to financially empower 10 million people by 2025, but they blew past that, empowering 11.8 million people since 2019. The new, raised goal is to financially empower 15 million people by 2025.

The financial commitment to these social pillars is substantial. In 2024, the bank deployed €166 million in community support, directly benefiting five million people across its markets. A significant portion, €104 million of that total, was invested specifically in the three core areas: education, employability, and entrepreneurship. Through the Santander X initiative, they also provided non-financial support to 52,570 businesses and entrepreneurial projects in 2024 alone. This isn't just charity; it builds future customers and stronger local economies.

• New Financial Inclusion Target: 15 million people by 2025.
• Total Community Investment (2024): €166 million.
• Investment in Education, Employability, Entrepreneurship (2024): €104 million.
• Businesses supported via Santander X (2024): 52,570.

Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) - PESTLE Analysis: Technological factors

You're looking at a bank that's making a massive, expensive bet on being a true digital-native company, and that's both the biggest opportunity and the biggest near-term risk. Banco Santander, S.A. is now one of the first major established banks to move its core systems to the cloud, but that move creates a larger attack surface for sophisticated cyber threats.

The core of the technology strategy is the Gravity platform, a proprietary cloud-based system designed to simplify the bank's sprawling global architecture. This shift is already delivering tangible efficiency gains and is setting the stage for a new level of customer experience and product agility. Here's the quick math: technology is moving from a cost center to a core competitive advantage, but it demands a constant, high-level investment in defense.

Cloud Migration: Completed migration of core infrastructure in Spain to its Gravity platform in June 2025

The migration of the entire core banking system in Spain to the Gravity platform was completed in June 2025, a decisive step. This makes Santander the first major established bank in the Western world to operate its core system 100% in the cloud, which is a big deal for speed and security. Moving the core banking system-where primary transactions like transfers and loans are processed-from legacy mainframes to a modern, cloud-native architecture shortens the time to launch new functionalities from weeks to mere hours.

This deployment is not stopping in Spain. The bank is actively rolling out Gravity in other major markets, including Brazil and Mexico. Once these key rollouts are complete, the Group expects to have migrated around 80% of its core technology infrastructure to cloud-based systems globally. When fully operational across the Group, the Gravity platform is projected to process over one trillion technical operations annually.

Operational Efficiency: Project Gravity helped reduce the efficiency ratio to 35.9% in Q3 2025 in its Chilean unit

The financial impact of this technological transformation is most clearly visible in operational efficiency (the cost-to-income ratio). In the Chilean unit, where Gravity is already deployed, the efficiency ratio reached a sector-leading 35.9% as of September 30, 2025 (Q3 2025). This is a significant improvement from the 40.0% recorded in the same period last year, showing that the platform is defintely reducing structural costs. For the overall Group, the efficiency ratio stood at 39.2% in Q3 2025, reflecting the continued benefits of the digital transformation across its global businesses.

The shift to a simpler, more integrated model is also driving productivity across the workforce. For example, over 6,000 of the bank's developers are now using AI tools, which has boosted their productivity by up to 30% on certain tasks.

AI Deployment: Uses advanced AI solutions globally for customer service and fraud detection

Santander is rapidly evolving into what it calls an AI-native bank, moving beyond traditional machine learning to deploy generative AI (GenAI) at scale. The bank has rolled out OpenAI's ChatGPT Enterprise to nearly 15,000 employees across Europe and the Americas and plans to double this coverage to 30,000 staff by the end of 2025. This is one of the most extensive GenAI deployments in global banking.

The financial returns from these AI initiatives are already clear:

• AI initiatives generated over €200 million in cost savings in 2024.
• AI tools now assist in more than 40% of contact-center interactions.
• Speech analytics in Spain processes 10 million calls annually, freeing up over 100,000 staff hours.

This table shows the measurable impact of the AI and digital transformation efforts as of Q3 2025:

Metric	Value (Q3 2025 / YTD 2025)	Context / Impact
Santander Chile Efficiency Ratio	35.9%	Best in Chilean industry; driven by digital transformation.
Group Efficiency Ratio	39.2%	Reflects overall cost management gains from transformation.
AI-Assisted Contact Centre Interactions	Over 40%	Shows scale of AI in customer service.
Planned ChatGPT Enterprise Users	30,000 (by end of 2025)	Represents 15% of the total workforce using GenAI.
Developer Productivity Gain (via AI)	Up to 30%	Accelerates time-to-market for new digital products.

Increased vulnerability to sophisticated cyberattacks and data breaches due to a growing digital footprint

The move to the cloud and the expansion of digital services, while boosting efficiency, inherently increases the bank's attack surface. This is the trade-off. A major data breach was announced in May 2024, where an unauthorized actor accessed a database hosted by a third-party provider, affecting customers and employees in Spain, Chile, and Uruguay. The bank's reliance on third-party vendors for parts of its infrastructure introduces a critical point of failure that is harder to control.

More recently, in November 2025, there were reports of an alleged sale of Banco Santander customer data on a cybercrime forum. The data purportedly included sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and financial details like IBANs, which significantly raises the risk of sophisticated financial fraud and identity theft for affected individuals. The bank has to constantly focus on risks associated with technology and cyberrisk, as noted in its Q3 2025 financial report. The bank is proactively engaging in global efforts like the Quantum Safe Financial Forum (QSSF) to prepare for future threats like post-quantum cryptography, but the immediate threat is from current, sophisticated social engineering and third-party vendor attacks.

Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) - PESTLE Analysis: Legal factors

You need to understand that for a global bank like Banco Santander, the legal landscape isn't just a cost center; it's a fundamental risk to the business model, especially with new regulations hitting the books in the 2025 fiscal year. We're talking about navigating a fragmented, multi-jurisdictional maze where a misstep in one country can trigger a domino effect across the Group. The core takeaway is that compliance spending is now a permanent, non-negotiable capital expenditure, and the regulatory environment is actively shifting to accommodate, or in some cases, prohibit, new digital asset classes.

Must navigate complex, multi-jurisdictional compliance for AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and KYC (Know Your Customer)

Operating across 10 core markets in Europe and the Americas means Banco Santander faces a constant battle to standardize its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance. This is an enormous operational cost, and even with robust internal controls, regulatory scrutiny is intense. For example, in a September 2025 action, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Banco Santander, S.A. and its subsidiary Santander US Capital Markets LLC a total of $500,000. Here's the quick math: that fine wasn't for market manipulation, but for simple record-keeping failures related to employees using unapproved communication methods like personal text messages for business. This shows how granular and unforgiving the supervisory focus is right now. You simply cannot afford to have compliance be a secondary thought.

Strict data governance requirements imposed by the EU's GDPR and similar global laws

Data governance, especially around the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is a major, ongoing legal risk. As a Spanish-headquartered bank, the GDPR is the baseline for all European operations, but similar privacy laws are emerging in other key markets like Brazil and the US. While Banco Santander has a corporate data protection policy and a designated Data Protection Officer, even minor errors lead to public penalties. To be fair, the fines can be small for a bank of this size, but the reputational damage is the real risk. In 2024, the Spanish Data Protection Agency fined the bank €42,000 for a GDPR violation involving the mistaken sharing of a mortgage-backed loan amortization schedule with a third party. This is defintely a risk of human error that technology needs to solve.

Regulatory Cost: Basel III implementation costs were estimated at €1.2 billion

The finalization of the Basel III framework, often called Basel IV, is the single largest regulatory capital event of 2025. The European Union's Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR3) and Capital Requirements Directive (CRD6) came into force on January 1, 2025, fundamentally changing how banks calculate risk-weighted assets (RWAs) and capital floors. The initial push for the massive operational overhaul required to meet these new standards was tied to a strategic plan to realize €1.2 billion in annual cost cuts through digitalization and simplification, which is a direct response to the pressure of higher regulatory capital and operational costs. The new rules translate to hard capital requirements you must meet.

Here's a look at the key 2025 capital requirements set by the European Central Bank (ECB) following the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP):

Capital Requirement Metric	Requirement Effective Jan 1, 2025	Change from Jan 1, 2024
Minimum CET1 Requirement	9.67%	+7 basis points
Total Capital Requirement	13.93%	+7 basis points
Pillar 2 Requirement (P2R)	1.74%	Maintained

US regulators are pushing back on certain Basel risk weights to foster digital asset competition

The global regulatory landscape for digital assets is fragmenting, which creates both risk and opportunity for a multinational bank. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) proposed a punitive 1,250% risk weight for unbacked crypto assets on permissionless-blockchains, which would make bank participation in the digital asset market economically impractical. However, US regulators are actively pushing back on this. The US Federal Reserve has publicly stated that it will not implement these specific Basel risk weights, aiming instead to foster digital asset competition and innovation among regulated US financial institutions. This is a critical divergence, allowing Banco Santander's US operations, whose Intermediate Holding Company (SHUSA) is designated as a Category IV financial institution (the lowest risk non-systemic tier), to pursue digital asset strategies with a less stringent capital burden than its European parent entity must contend with.

The current regulatory posture creates a unique competitive dynamic:

• US regulators reject the 1,250% Basel risk weight.
• Global stablecoin market is approaching $300 billion.
• Banco Santander must manage two distinct digital asset regulatory regimes.

Finance: Draft a memo by end-of-week comparing the capital impact of a 1% Bitcoin holding under the 1,250% Basel weight versus US-specific rules.

Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) - PESTLE Analysis: Environmental factors

Net-Zero Commitment: Target of becoming a zero-carbon group by 2050

You need to know that Banco Santander, S.A. is defintely pushing hard on its long-term climate goals, but the real work is in the financed emissions (Scope 3), not just their own operations. The bank's ambition is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across the entire group by 2050, aligning with the Paris Agreement goals. This commitment covers their own operations, which are already carbon neutral, and more importantly, all client emissions that result from their lending, advisory, or investment services.

Here's the quick math: achieving net-zero by 2050 means a massive, ongoing portfolio shift over the next 25 years. The bank's 2025 focus is on setting sector-specific decarbonization targets, like those already disclosed for the power generation, oil & gas, steel, and automotive sectors.

What this estimate hides: The bank is a founding member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), but the actual decarbonization trajectory is complex, requiring engagement with a diverse, global client base that is at different stages of the energy transition.

Green Finance Target: Achieved the €120 billion goal for raising or facilitating green finance early

The bank hit its near-term green finance target well ahead of schedule, which is a significant positive signal for their execution capability. The original goal was to raise or facilitate €120 billion in green finance between 2019 and the end of 2025. They achieved this milestone 18 months early.

As of December 2024, the total amount raised and mobilized globally in green finance by the Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) division alone reached €139.4 billion. This early success led to an immediate increase in ambition, so the new benchmark is now set much higher.

The new, forward-looking target is to raise or facilitate €220 billion in green finance by 2030. This capital is crucial for financing the expansion of renewable energy capacity, which the International Energy Agency estimates needs to triple globally to meet Paris objectives.

Metric	Target/Achievement (2025 Fiscal Year Data)	New Target
Original Green Finance Goal (2019-2025)	Achieved €120 billion (18 months early)	N/A
Total Green Finance Mobilized (2019-Dec 2024)	€139.4 billion	N/A
New Green Finance Target	N/A	€220 billion by 2030

Decarbonization: Target to phase out exposure by 2030 to power generation clients with over 10% revenue from coal

The bank's initial decarbonization targets were clear: by 2030, they would stop providing financial services to power generation clients deriving more than 10% of their revenues from thermal coal. They also committed to eliminating all exposure to thermal coal mining globally by the same date.

Still, you need to be aware of a critical policy update from July 2025. The bank amended its Environmental and Social Risk Management Policy, introducing a significant caveat.

• Original 2030 goal was a hard cut-off for clients with over 10% coal revenue.
• The July 2025 policy change now allows Banco Santander to provide sustainable finance and products to these same clients, even after 2030.
• They can also now provide general purpose finance for new clients with up to 25% of revenues from thermal coal power generation without requiring a robust plan to reduce that exposure to 10% or below by 2030.

This shift is a near-term risk for their ESG credibility (environmental, social, and governance), as it creates a loophole for continued engagement with high-carbon clients under the banner of 'transition finance.' It makes the 2030 phase-out target less absolute.

All debit, credit, and pre-paid cards in its four core European markets will be made from sustainable materials by the end of 2025.

This is a concrete, operational environmental goal that directly impacts their physical footprint. By the end of 2025, all debit, credit, and pre-paid cards issued in their four core European markets will be manufactured from sustainable materials, such as recycled PVC or corn-based plastic substitutes (PLA).

The four core European markets driving this change are:

• Spain
• Portugal
• Poland
• The UK

The bank has over 30 million payment cards in the Europe region. Completing this rollout is expected to save more than 1,000 tonnes of CO2 every year, which is roughly equivalent to the annual energy consumption of nearly 1,000 households. Plus, it will reduce plastic usage by 60 tons annually.

This is a small but tangible win for reducing their operational carbon footprint.