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Santander Plans Capital Increase of Up to EU7.5 Billion
Banco Santander SA (SAN), Spain’s largest bank, said it plans to sell shares for as much as 7.5 billion euros ($8.8 billion) and will cut its dividend, reducing the payout it had offered investors since 2007. The lender’s board is meeting today to approve the fundraising and the dividend policy, the bank said in a regulatory filing, without elaborating on what’s prompting the actions. Shares were earlier suspended in Madrid by the Spanish market regulator and dropped as much as 3.5 percent in the U.S. Chairman Ana Botin, in the role for less than four months, is looking to strengthen the bank’s capital as ... (full story)