Value Valuing Santander

The Santander Group of financial institutions is one of the largest financial companies in the world and has the largest network of branches of any bank in existence, with subsidiaries based in the United States, Europe, and Latin American, and with operations that truly stretch to every corner of the globe (Santander Group 2011). With such expansive operations and holdings, it can be difficult to come up with an accurate and comprehensive valuation of the company, especially as many of its assets are not entirely tangible and are subject to major swings in value as a result of economic turmoil (which is of course heightened in the current era). A systematic approach identifying key aspects of the business and its relation to competitors can provide an overview of Santander's value, however.

The tangible assets of the Santander Group are immense,...

The intangible assets of the company are also quite extensive; with many decades of operation in highly diverse regions and almost all imaginable areas of banking and finance, the knowledge reserves and skill levels of the organization alone are worth quite a lot in terms of value to the group (Santander Group 2011; Yahoo Finance 2011). The company's most recent annual report provides a total asset valuation of over 1.2 billion Euros, but it is likely that this number is higher given a full consideration of intangible assets (Santander Group 2011).
The strategic capabilities and core…