Boston, MA 04/08/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Javier Marin, Chief Executive of Spanish bank Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:SAN) said last week that the U.S. unit of the bank does not need extra capital. However, he did mention that the bank will have to improve on its plans for dealing with a financial crisis, as asked by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Re-planning required
Marin also stated that the Spanish bank’s U.S. arm will need to readjust its capital plan and then resubmit it to the U.S. Federal Reserve. However, Marin did not mention how Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:SAN) would look to adjust the plan and neither did he say when they would be submitting it.
The issue
Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:SAN) was one of the three non U.S. banks along with HSBC and RBS, whose plans were rejected after scrutiny by the Federal Reserve. The U.S. bank in the list was Citigroup Inc.
The Federal Reserve did not question the quantity of capital that these banks held in their respective U.S. units but was rather concerned with aspects of their internal controls and risk modeling.
At a conference in Madrid, Marin told journalists that the bank had come out slightly worse at a qualitative level and that they needed to improve on certain aspects by making adjustments to a few things. He also stated that it was a learning curve and they would need to refine the process.
All the three non U.S. banks, Santander, HSBC and RBS, said last week that they would look to resubmit their plans.
Santander doing well in the U.S.
Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:SAN) has been doing very good business in the U.S. In 2013, 10% of the group’s profits came from here and that has helped its growth strategy. It further aims to double its profits in the North-Eastern U.S. banking sector by 2016, to $2 billion.
The U.S. central bank in the earlier week, objected to Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:SAN)’s plan for dealing with stressed financial circumstances, stating that the plan had widespread and significant deficiencies. This included problems of governance, risk management, internal controls, and analysis that support the capital planning process.
Marin also mentioned that the Fed probably, hadn’t taken the bank’s latest capital moves into account, in its review.
