The bank showed improvement on all fronts in 2007. Assets grew by 11.2%, net profits by 20%, Tier 1 capital was up 10% and return on equity rose to 24.4%, while the cost-to-income ratio was trimmed to 36.2% from 40.2%. The bank outperformed its domestic competitors in all these indicators and is well positioned to achieve further growth.
This, along with a Tier 1 ratio of 9.5% and a strong, well-provisioned balance sheet, has left the bank in a strong competitive position in the Portuguese market. Last year, the bank launched a zero commission campaign, which in essence offers the customer the chance to pay no commissions on all the bank’s main services in exchange for customer loyalty.
The bank now has more than 600,000 customers, one third of the country’s retail banking market. Santander Totta also implemented a specific quality project called Radar, which allowed for full implementation of the virtuous cycle of detection, action plan and evaluation of processes with a greater beneficial impact on the end customer.
“In banking, timing is decisive to achieve sustained success,” says Santander Totta president Nuno Amado. “Based on our solid situation, created through anti-cyclical measures, we were able to pursue our commercial banking strategy based on the best efficiency, recurrent income with low risk, and innovation in retail solutions for our clients.”
