The Spanish press has described a “revolution” at Banco Santander this Wednesday. In any case, what the entity has announced constitutes a full-scale restructuring, with the merger of the Investment Platforms & Corporate Investments unit and the global Wealth Management & Insurance business.
Leading this new sector is one of Santander’s strongmen, Javier García Carranza, who is now responsible for Asset Management, Private Banking, and Insurance.
According to an internal memo accessed by the Spanish press, García Carranza replaces Víctor Matarranz, who previously led Wealth Management. From now on, Matarranz will work directly with the group’s CEO, Héctor Grisi, to “support him in executing the strategy,” according to the internal memo.
According to public figures, the Wealth Management & Insurance unit manages assets worth €482 billion ($523 billion). In the first quarter, the unit’s net profit rose by 27% year-on-year, representing around 13% of Santander group’s profits.
With this change, the group’s global areas are reduced to five (Retail & Commercial, Digital Consumer Bank, Payments, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Wealth Management & Insurance) at the expense of the division into geographical markets. The changes were announced at the end of 2023 and aim to simplify the entity’s offerings.