Banco Santander says it expects to generate an extra €1 billion in business value over the next two years by investing in AI and data to boost revenues and cut costs.
Banco Santander presented its strategic plan for 2026–2028 at its Investor Day in London, marking the next phase of value creation for the bank. The plan builds on the successful delivery of the 2023–2025 strategic cycle and sets a roadmap for structurally higher returns over the coming years.
Group’s strategy and key financial and operational target
. By 2028, the bank aims to reach more than 210 million customers, up from 180 million at the end of 2025, further strengthening its position as the leading bank by customers across Europe and the Americas.
. By growing revenue mid-single digit and reducing total costs[3] every year (resulting in an efficiency ratio of c.36% by 2028), the bank expects to achieve a profit of more than €20 billion by 2028.
. This would result in a return on tangible equity (RoTE) above 20% in 2028, supported by double-digit earnings per share growth every year in 2026-2028.
. The bank will increase cash dividend payout to c.35% of group profit from 2027 results onwards, with c.15% allocated to share buybacks1, and more than double the cash dividend per share versus 2025.
In 2025, Santander delivered a record attributable profit of €14.1 billion in 2025, marking the successful completion of its three-year strategic cycle. Over the 2023-2025 period, earnings per share increased 68%, while tangible net asset value per share plus dividend per share increased by 14% per year on average. Since 2021, including the newly announced €5 billion buyback, Santander will have returned €16.2 billion to shareholders through share buybacks, representing approximately 18% of its outstanding shares. Over the 2023-2025 period, Santander’s share price increased by over 250%.
„Investments in data & AI are a key lever of ONE Transformation, fully embedded in the businesses and focused on hyper-personalized customer journeys, AI-powered frontline productivity and end-to-end process automation. By 2028, the bank expects to generate more than €1 billion of business value annually (cost savings plus revenues) from data and AI initiatives, contributing around 1 percentage point of the group’s cost-to-income improvement.” – according to the press release.
„Our strategic plan for 2026-28 sets a new standard for profitable growth, with the aim to serve more than 210 million customers across Europe and the Americas. Customer growth, together with disciplined execution of ONE Transformation, will drive higher revenues and structurally lower costs, resulting in an efficiency ratio of c.36% and a RoTE above 20% by 2028.” – said Ana Botín, Banco Santander executive chair.
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