Trade publications honor Santander private banking

Banking industry magazines The Banker, part of the Financial Times group, and Private Banker International have named Santander Private Banking “Best Private Bank in Latin America 2013.” The Banker also classified Santander’s units in Spain and Mexico as “Highly Commended” — or finalists — in the “Best Private Bank 2013” category, the financial institution announced Thursday.
Santander Private Banking is the Grupo Santander unit that specializes in serving customers in the private banking segment. It is present in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, the United States, Switzerland and the Bahamas. It has 1,700 employees and a network of more than 100 dedicated branches.
At the end of 2012, its assets totaled $190 billion. Only six years after being launched in 2007, it now ranks among the 20 largest private banks in the world, according to Scorpio Partnership, a consulting firm that specializes in the financial sector.
“With these awards, the market recognizes the qualities that set apart the model Santander has developed for private banking. It is a model of service focused exclusively on the customer, which completely satisfies his financial needs, whether simple or complex,” said José Salgado, head of private banking for Grupo Santander.
“Our specialized model relies on Santander’s strengths, its solvency, soundness and extensive international presence, with the goal of making Grupo Santander one of the main players in the advisory and asset management sector worldwide,” he added.
To that end, Santander’s bankers have the support of multidisciplinary specialists and technological tools that help them to adapt and optimize customers’ investments, to preserve their assets and build up a long-term relationship based on trust between the bank and the customer, the bank said.