Banco Santander is expecting continued growth in the first quarter of 2025, with improvements in key financial metrics such as Return on Tangible Equity (RoTE) and Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio. Ana Botín, the executive chair of Banco Santander, affirmed these expectations during the bank’s annual general meeting.
Botín stated, "Looking forward, we expect to continue increasing profitability in 2025. While we are monitoring the implications of recent tariff announcements in the US, it is in challenging times when the value of our diversification is most apparent. Our diversification acts as stabilizer in an uncertain global environment." She further noted that the bank aims to achieve revenues of around €62 billion, reduce costs year-on-year, maintain a stable cost of risk, and reach a RoTE of approximately 16.5% and a CET1 of 13% by the end of the year.
The bank anticipates an increase in profitability for the first quarter of 2025 compared to 2024, with an expected RoTE of around 15.7% and a CET1 ratio improvement to 12.9%, marking a 10 basis points increase from the previous year. Botín mentioned, "In the first quarter of 2025, we maintained the positive trend seen in previous years by growing customers, with revenues expected to remain flattish and costs to decrease."
Botín also discussed the bank’s strategic transformation plan, known as "ONE Transformation," aimed at enhancing the bank’s global scale by leveraging local leadership and global technology platforms. She highlighted, "The idea behind this plan is to foster collaboration between our five global businesses — what we call 'network collaboration' — as well as to offer the best solutions and scale them in all our markets."
The macroeconomic environment was also addressed, with Botín discussing the potential impact of geopolitical uncertainties and trade tensions, notably the recent US tariff announcements. She noted that despite these challenges, the bank’s markets remain resilient, supported by strong employment data.
In her comments about the European market, Botín emphasized Spain's expected economic growth of 2.5% in 2025, which surpasses the European average, and the goal for Europe to play a significant global role in economic growth.