Santander has announced a new cash dividend and share buyback, bringing the total amount allocated to shareholders against 2021 results to approximately €3.4 billion.

The bank said it would pay a final cash dividend from 2021 results of 5.15 euro cents per share while also completing a further share buyback of approximately €865 million.

“Our business performed extremely well in 2021, with attributable profit 25 per cent higher than pre-covid levels in 2019 and a record profit before tax of €15.3 billion,” said Ana Botín, Banco Santander executive chair. “We are on track to meet our medium-term targets set out in 2019 and have already reached our capital target of 12 per cent, thanks to our proven capacity for organic capital generation.

“The cash dividend and buyback announced today reflects our commitment to delivering attractive returns, as well as our confidence that investing in our shares at the current valuation creates excellent value for shareholders.”

This week Santander also announced changes to its management structure.

It said it would consolidate management of its strategy and new tech growth engines, PagoNxt and Digital Consumer Bank, under the remit of executive chair, Ana Botín, while Santander’s regions, countries, and global businesses will continue to report to chief executive, José Antonio Álvarez.

Commenting on the management changes, Ana Botín said: “The changes allow a dedicated management focus on long-term strategy and growth initiatives as we build the Santander of tomorrow, while at the same time ensuring we continue to support our customers today and drive strong financial and operational performance across our regions and businesses. As well as aligning our model to peers, the changes ensure we continue to meet the highest standards of governance with a clear differentiation between the executive chair and CEO roles.”

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