Latin America: Santander Brasil focuses on its goals, not the misses

Angel Santodomingo, Santander Brasil’s CFO, has had a ringside seat for the latest round of consolidation in the country’s retail banking sector. As HSBC and then Citi put their Brazilian retail operations up for sale, the Spanish-headquartered bank (although it is listed in Brazil) participated in both auctions. It was not to be successful in either of its bids, with the country’s two dominant private-sector banks each taking one apiece. 

Analysts had been quick to point out that either would have been better for Santander, which is currently ranked third-largest private bank with its 12% market share, than it was for Itaú or Bradesco.