Banco Santander
Profile
Banco Santander is a multinational financial services company that was founded in 1857. It was sued by 34 U.S. states over it’s automobile loans that involved high interest rates and prolonged repayment plans. Some 82 percent of these borrowers were considered sub-prime of whom roughly half defaulted. Despite these high default rates, the bank made a profit by borrowing at low interest rates and then re-selling the loans on the secondary market. In 2020, the bank paid the U.S. government $550 million to have the lawsuits dropped.
Financial services
Violations
| Top 5 Offense Groups (Groups Defined) | Penalty Total | Number of Records |
|---|---|---|
| consumer-protection-related offenses | $618,345,000 | 14 |
| financial offenses | $27,358,281 | 8 |
| employment-related offenses | $62,895 | 1 |
(May 11, 2021)
Stories
- Building a Global Bank: The Transformation of Banco Santander, Emilio Botín y el Banco Santander: Historia de una ambición (2008).
Activism
Activists briefly occupy Santander headquarters in union campaign
Katie Johnston | Boston Globe | March 27, 2017
About 50 bank workers, community leaders, and housing rights advocates from around the country briefly occupied Santander’s US headquarters on State Street in Boston Monday morning, causing security to lock down the bank branch for about 30 minutes until police arrived.
Spanish Ire Against Bankers Spills Over in City Center Protests
Charles Petty | Bloomberg | May 31, 2011
After losing 8,000 euros ($11,500) on an interest-rate swap sold with her mortgage, Maria Jesus del Rio joined demonstrators in her home town of Soria as protests against politicians and bankers spilled onto Spanish streets.
& Lawsuits
Santander agrees to $550 million U.S. settlement over subprime auto loans
David Shepardson | Reuters | May 19, 2020
Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc said on Tuesday it had agreed to make changes to its underwriting practices as part of a $550 million settlement with 33 states and the District of Columbia over subprime auto loans.
Brazil health crisis forces Santander into office retreat
Carolina Mandl & Tatiana Bautzer | Reuters | March 26, 2021
Less than a month ago, Banco Santander Brasil had nearly 65% of its employees back in offices, while Brazil’s two largest banks kept almost all of theirs working from home.
Bankers protest layoffs at Santander during pandemic
JN Glco | September 24, 2020
Bankers from all over the country are holding, this Thursday (24), a National Day of Struggle against the layoffs carried out by Banco Santander.
Bank workers protest outside Santander
Tim Devaney | The Hill | March 27, 2017
Santander Bank is facing protests Monday from workers who are demanding a union.
Financials
Croctail Subsidiary Tool using the CorpWatch API - This API uses automated parsers to extract the subsidiary relationship information from Exhibit 21 of companies' 10-K filings with the SEC.
Click here for the latest list.
Political Influence
OpenSecrets.org Profile of Banco Santander
& Evasion
Santander pays US$50mn to end São Paulo tax probe
bnamericas | June 3, 2019
The Brazilian unit of Spanish banking giant Santander agreed to pay 196mn reais (US$49.7mn) to terminate an investigation over alleged tax evasion.
Dividend windfall: Santander latest target in Germany's giant fraud probe
Tom Sims, John O'Donnell | Reuters | October 17, 2018
Spain's Santander SAN.MC is the latest bank to be caught up in Germany's biggest post-war fraud investigation involving a share-trading scheme that the authorities say cost taxpayers billions of euros.
Procurement
Banco Santander contracts with the U.S. federal government (via USA Spending).