Banco Santander The stock market is celebrating its record-breaking first-half net profit, with shares now up 2,3% after initial uncertainty, reaching €12,18 per share.
Record net profit for Banco Santander in the first half of 2026. The Spanish banking giant closed the period with 7,33 billion in profits, up 15% compared to the first six months of the previous year. Profits were mainly driven by the acquisition of new customers, which increased by €12 million to €182 million over the past year. Including the capital gain from the sale of its Polish operations (effective since January), the figure rises to €8,97 billion (+31%). Revenues also on the rise, which in the first half-year rose by 6% to 30,85 billion euros.
Banco Santander aims to expand in the UK and US
President Ana Botin, on the occasion of the publication of the accounts, observed that the integration of the British bank TSB into the group, which took place on April 30, "marks another important step in the implementation of our strategy. It strengthens our position in one of our key markets." In addition to the United Kingdom, Banco Santander is particularly targeting the United States. Last February, the Spanish bank reached an agreement to acquire Webster Bank. The transaction will be finalized during the course of the year.
Banco Santander confirms its targets
In light of the results of the first half of 2026, Santander has confirm all targets for 2026, which exclude the impact of M&A transactions in 2025 and 2026. The bank expects a mid-single-digit revenue growth” and a reduction in costs at constant exchange rates, a profit above the 14,1 billion euros recorded in 2025 and a CET1 ratio between 12,8% and 13%Revenue growth is expected to continue to be driven by client activity, with net fees growing at a faster pace than net interest income, while cost discipline and the “ONE Transformation” program will continue to support positive operating leverage.
Santander also confirms its three-year plan, as outlined during the Investor Day last February: by 2028, the Group aims to achieve a RoTE above 20%, a profit exceeding 20 billion euros, growing compared to the 14,1 billion euros forecast for 2026 and over 210 million customers.
10 billion euros for members in 2025-26
During the first half of the year, the bank paid a dividend in cash for 2025 equal to 24 euro cents per share (up 14% on an annual basis), and continued the execution of the program of 5 billion euro buyback announced in February, including the additional distribution linked to the divestment of operations in Poland. Considering the share buyback program currently underway and the planned one – worth approximately €1,8 billion – based on the results of the first half of 2026, Santander will have allocated approximately €9 billion to the objective of distributing at least 10 billion euros through buybacks of actions for the two-year period 2025-2026.
