Santander pledges profitability growth after earnings beat

Banco Santander SA pledged to increase profitability and shareholder payouts as rising interest rates in key markets from the Americas to Europe set to boost income from lending at the Spanish retail banking behemoth.

The bank also signaled it’s done strengthening capital buffers after rebounding from steep losses two years ago at the onset of the pandemic. In the long run, Santander said it aims to boost shareholder payouts beyond the current 40% of underlying profit.

“Shareholder distributions are an important focus for Santander,” Chairman Ana Botin said in a statement Wednesday, after reporting net income in the fourth quarter that beat