Banco Santander Says Brexit Will Not Have Material Impact; Backs Outlook

(RTTNews) - Banco Santander (BNC.L, BSBR, SAN) said that it did not anticipate that recent events will have a material impact on Grupo Santander accounts in 2016, and maintained its guidance for all core financial targets for the Group this year.

The targets include: capital creation of 10 basis points per quarter, 40 basis points per annum in order to reach +11% by 2018; positive EPS growth; tangible book value per share growth; and a 10% increase in cash dividend per share and €21 cents DPS. As such, all commercial and financial targets for this year are reiterated.

With regards to the second quarter earnings, and as it announced previously, the company concluded a cost efficiency exercise in the second quarter. The cost associated (about 500 million euros) was partially offset by the capital gains generated in the sale of its stake in Visa. The net impact in the quarter amounted to a charge of 250 million euros. The company's aim is to offset the restructuring cost completely by the end of this year. At this point it reiterated that 2016 earnings per share will be above 2015 earnings per share.

Banco Santander noted that its model has proven resilient in the most adverse economic situations, like the recent political and economic crisis in Brazil, where Santander continues to meet its financial targets.