Banco Santander and the European Market for Banking and Financial Services in 2015

The case on Banco Santander is a complement to the case "Nordea and the European Market for Banking and Financial Services in 2015". The Nordea case describes the market structure for banking (retail, wholesale, investment banking, asset management) in Europe, the major events that shaped the restructuring of the banking industry after the global financial crisis, and the positioning and performance of the major competitors in the Nordic region of Europe. The Banco Santander case describes the history, strategy, position and performance of Banca Santander and zooms in on the recent period where the bank under new chairman, Mrs. Ana Botín, confronts significant challenges in its South American markets and its transition from a bank focused on mergers and acquisitions to one driven by organic growth.

The Nordea case allows a discussion of 1) the market structure dynamics of banking in Europe as a whole and the Nordic countries more specifically; 2) the sources of competitive advantage and disruption in banking; 3) the different strategies that are viable to create long-term success; 4) the strategy issues that influence the scope of international expansion in banking; 5) the analysis of bank financial strength. The Banco Santander case allows discussion of the M&A growth strategy in banking, the importance of market conditions in explaining business results, and the challenges associated with changing to a new business model (from growth driven by M&A to organic growth).