Santander on track to return €6bn to shareholders

Spain’s Banco Santander said on Friday it was on track to return more than €6bn to shareholders in 2024, following a strong start to the year.

Speaking at the annual general meeting, executive chair Ana Botin said the lender had added 2m customers during the first quarter, helping grow income 9% year-on-year.

Costs, meanwhile, had remained flat, while the return on tangible equity was expected to reach 16% in the first quarter.

It means the group is now on track to meet full-year financial targets.

Said Botin: "I am very confident that we will deliver a considerably better performance in 2024 than 2023, which was already are record year, and will meet our 2024 targets.

"That being the case, cash dividends and share buybacks against 2024 results would amount to over €6bn."

Botin said the payout would be a mixture of cash dividends and share buybacks, in line with the current shareholder remuneration policy.

Santander paid out €5.5bn in 2023 on the same basis.

As at 1030 GMT, Santander’s Madrid-listed shares were trading up 2%.