Santander plans €7.5bn share sale to raise fresh capital

In a bid to raise as much as €7.5bn (£5.9bn) in fresh capital, Santander will embark on an overnight share sale.

 

Trading in the Spanish bank’s shares were suspended on Tuesday afternoon in anticipation of the move. Shares closed at a price of €6.86 per share, up 3.3 per cent.

 

The Financial Times is reporting that Santander’s board met in Madrid on Thursday to discuss the share sale which will be handled by Goldman Sachs and UBS.

 

The Spanish bank has often shirked from calls to raise fresh capital, yet new executive chairman Ana Botin looks to be pushing the lender in a different direction under her leadership.

 

In September last year, Botin took over as chairman from her father Emilio who passed away following 27 years in the role.

 

Santander, the Eurozone’s biggest bank, comfortably passed last year’s European Central Bank stress tests, with its capital ratio of 8.9 per cent well above the 5.5 per cent pass mark.