Santander Plans Record Dividend and Massive Share Buyback

Santander Bank, a heavyweight of the Spanish banking sector, has announced its intention to reward shareholders with substantial disbursements following a record result last year. In an official statement on Monday, the financial institution indicated its plan to grant shareholders a final dividend of 9.50 euro cents per share. In addition, a share buyback program valued at nearly 1.5 billion euros is to be launched, a clear sign of confidence in the company's own development. These generous capital measures are a direct result of the extremely successful fiscal year 2023, in which the bank reported the highest profit in its corporate history at an impressive 11.1 billion euros. Ana Botín, the bank's Chairwoman, had already announced at the beginning of the year the strategy to return nearly half of the annual surplus to shareholders. The total distribution to shareholders, consisting of the upcoming final dividend, the interim dividend from November, and the previous buybacks of own shares, amounted to over 5.5 billion euros. This is a considerable sum, demonstrating how the bank wishes to let its shareholders participate in the company's success through both dividends and share buybacks.