The Santander Way.
It’s shorthand for Santander’s approach to business.
And it was the principal message delivered to last week’s Santander 2015 Convention by Ana Botín, group executive chairman of Banco Santander.
“Starting today, let us together build a bank that is simple, personal and fair,” Botín wrote after the company’s first group convention. “Everyone has a critical part to play.”
“Our group’s aim is to be the best retail and commercial bank that earns the lasting loyalty of our people, customers, shareholders and communities,” Botín wrote. “Everything we do, wherever we operate, must be simple, personal and fair. These three words define what our bank should be.”
Here is what Botín had to say about each of those words:
- A simple bank offers its customers a service that is convenient and products that are easy to understand, however and whenever they choose to bank. It makes its processes better every day, so they are easy and clear for customers and its team.
- A personal bank treats its customers as valued individuals, providing a professional, personal service they can trust. It supports colleagues to develop their skills and achieve their ambitions.
- A fair bank treats people as they like to be treated – and it earns investors an adequate and sustainable return, while recognizing its responsibility to help communities.
“Each of us needs to turn these three words into reality,” Botín wrote. “From now on, whatever you [associates] do, whenever you make a decision, ask yourself: Is this simple, personal and fair? If it is not, think about how you can do it differently; or suggest to your manager how it might be changed.”
Video presentations to the meeting included Santander Consumer USA Chairman and CEO Tom Dundon, as well as executives from other Santander Holdings USA units, Santander Bank, N.A., based in Boston, Banco Santander International of Miami and Banco Santander Puerto Rico.
“The world is changing faster than ever. We are in the middle of a revolution, driven by digital technology. Customers have more power and choice than ever before. Every aspect of life is changing – and that includes banks,” the chairman wrote. “So if Santander is to continue to grow, we need to change. We need to be one team in which each of us understands the purpose of the bank; works towards a common aim, and acts and behaves in the same way.”
“Our people are our greatest asset,” SCUSA chairman and CEO Dundon said in his presentation. “We pride ourselves on our dynamic and motivated team.”
