Banco Santander Unveils 2023-2025 Growth Plan; Lifts Shareholder Payout Policy; Stock Up

(RTTNews) - Spanish financial services Group Banco Santander S.A. (BNC.L, BSBR, SAN) Tuesday unveiled its strategy for growth for the next three years from 2023 to 2025, as it details plans for higher profitability and growth. The company also announced an increase in its shareholder payout policy. The shares were gaining around 3 percent in the morning trading in Spain.

At its Investor Day in London, the company presents its plan to increase shareholder payout policy to about 50 percent of profits from about 40 percent, in 2023-2025 period through both cash dividends and share buybacks.

The bank's key financial and commercial goals also include achieving a return on tangible equity of 15-17 percent in 2023-2025 and an efficiency ratio of c.42 percent by 2025.

The bank will maintain a fully-loaded CET1 above 12 percent.

The bank also projects to deliver double-digit average annual growth in tangible net asset value or TNAV per share plus dividend per share through the cycle - a key measure of value creation.

By 2025, the bank is aiming to add 40 million customers, taking the total to around 200 million, while increasing active customers by 26 million to around 125 million.

This will help to grow revenues by around 7-8 percent per year on average in constant euros in 2023-2025.

Furthermore, through its ongoing transformation, the bank expects to improve its efficiency ratio from 45.8 percent to around 42 percent by 2025.

In Spain, Banco Santander shares were trading at 3.64 euros, up 2.45 percent.