Santander plays digital catch-up

With its executives’ bright red ties and its thoroughly mainstream marketing, Santander might never be the world’s coolest company. It has been through old-fashioned deal-making and astute management, rather than youthful invention, that the Spanish group has outshone its peers. 

However, senior insiders say Santander is quietly catching up and even surpassing mainstream banking competitors in technology, as it urgently confronts the digital challenge to the global retail banking industry.

A greater focus on technology, rather than daring acquisitions, is also one of the clearest ways in which Ana Botín is making her mark on the group since taking over as executive chairman in 2014.