Value Valuing Santander the Santander Group of

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, with over 1,300 individual personal and business banking branches, many different office structures, equipment and technology used in providing services and in operations, and other miscellaneous yet substantial items and properties (Santander Group 2011; Yahoo Finance 2011; Santander 2011).

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 competencies of the Santander Group are as impressive as the tangible and intangible assets that the organization possesses. The financial institutions operates a global network not only of personal and business accounts and the many products and services offered to standard bank account holders, but also operates a corporate banking division, investment banking services, trade and general financing, asset and capital structuring, merger and acquisition advising and facilitating; is actively engaged in the credit market…the list goes on (Santander Group 2011; Yahoo Finance 2011).

Not only does the company operate in all of these levels through each of its major subsidiaries, but it is successful in all of these areas and continues to post major gains for its shareholders and its customers/clients despite the long-running period of economic uncertainty (Santander Group 2011). As a large and diverse financial institution, Santander is poised to take strategic advantage of pretty much any development that occurs worldwide. The Santander Group's not the only financial.