Link Securities | On Wednesday, the newspaper Expansión reported on statements made by Héctor Grisi, CEO of Banco Santander (SAN), during the presentation of the bank’s results for the first nine months (9M2025) to analysts. In his remarks, the bank’s chief executive officer believes that interest margins could enter a more stable phase and anticipates that next year will be ‘tough’ in terms of costs due to the demands of the transformation plan. He believes that, despite the rise in the share price, share buybacks continue to be a very good value proposition. Grisi said on Wednesday that the bank will remain ‘very disciplined’ in its capital allocation and positioning in the mortgage business in Spain. ‘The market is very competitive, and mortgages are being granted at interest rates of 1.75%. Let’s hope that rationality returns. SAN will continue to be rational, even if it loses some market share’, Grisi said. SAN currently has an overall share of credit in Spain of less than 25% of Caixabank (CABK) and more than 14% of BBVA (BBVA).
Meanwhile, Santander UK, SAN’s British subsidiary, did not present its Q3 2025 accounts yesterday, pending a determination of the impact that the compensation proposal made by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) could have in relation to the car financing case. This scandal refers to the inclusion of clauses, about which users had little or no information, linking the interest on the loan to the commission paid to dealers. The bank has set aside £295 million (around €340 million) for this reason. SAN’s British subsidiary plans to reformulate the FCA’s compensation proposal, warns of the damage that the current scheme may cause to vehicle purchase financing, and plans to update the amount of the provision for this scandal, which now stands at €340 million, in its Q4 2025 results.
