Santander to hire 150 bankers for investment banking growth.
Santander to hire 150 bankers for investment banking growth.
Santander Plans to Hire 150 Bankers to Boost Investment Banking Business in the US
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In an exciting move to accelerate growth in its investment banking business, Santander, Spain’s second-largest lender, is planning to hire around 150 bankers primarily in the United States. The news was revealed in a town hall held in New York by Jose M. Linares, Santander’s Global Corporate and Investment Banking Chief, indicating the bank’s ambitions to become a major player in investment banking and diversify its earnings.
Santander, led by Chair Ana Botin, aims to double its franchise in the US, bolstering its presence in one of the world’s foremost financial hubs. The hiring spree will span over the next year or so, with most of the recruits being managing directors who will be based in the US, UK, and other global markets. The bank has already made progress in this endeavor, having hired more than 20 senior investment bankers primarily in the United States.
To spearhead this expansion and revamp the unit, Santander announced a reshuffling at the management level. David Hermer, a former banker from Credit Suisse, has been appointed as the head of its Corporate and Investment Banking Business in the United States. Marco Antonio Achon, one of Hermer’s predecessors, will join the team led by the Global Head of Banking and Corporate Finance, Darren Jones.
Additionally, Santander has recruited Steven Geller, former head of Global M&A at Credit Suisse, as the head of its M&A business. These appointments, along with the others, will come into effect from September. The bank’s CEO, Hector Grisi, who himself joined Santander from Credit Suisse in 2015, emphasized that the intention is not to compete with the industry’s giants but rather to strengthen the bank’s investment banking presence in the US.
“In no way are we thinking about being a major player (…) nor do we plan to compete with the big players,” Grisi clarified during a press briefing. Instead, Santander’s strategy is to focus on leveraged finance and corporate services for clients with a presence in Europe and Latin America, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as energy transition that offer substantial growth potential.
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These efforts to enhance the investment banking business seem to be paying off for Santander. In the second quarter of 2023, the bank’s global corporate and investment bank witnessed a 16% increase in net profit YoY, amounting to 899 million euros. The contribution to Santander’s group earnings from the investment bank rose to around 30% in Q2 2023, up from 26% in the same quarter of the previous year.
Currently, Santander employs approximately 8,000 staff members in its global corporate and investment bank. The bank has traditionally relied on Latin America’s growth to offset challenging conditions for banks in Europe. However, with this move to expand and strengthen its investment banking business in the US, Santander is diversifying its portfolio and opening up new avenues for growth and success in the highly competitive global market.
