(Bloomberg) — Banco Santander SA has hired 40 private bankers so far this year to look after high-net-worth and ultra-wealthy clients in Europe and Latin America as it aims to increase assets under management.
The Spanish lender began boosting the senior and ultra-senior segment of its private banking business last year and has since hired 90 bankers, according to a person familiar with the appointments. Most of the hiring has been at Santander's Miami and Mexico units.
Assets under management at Santander's Wealth Management & Insurance division, which is headed by Victor Matarranz and includes private banking and asset management, rose 14% in the first quarter from a year earlier to 482 billion euros ($519 billion). The bank aims to reach a target of 500 billion euros by the end of 2025, the person said.
Other Spanish lenders are also expanding their private banking business. Earlier this year, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA OPEN a new office in Miami to serve wealthy Latin American clients.
Apart from private banking, Santander's corporate and investment banking unit has also been on a hiring spree as it takes advantage of weakness in its Wall Street peers to grow. The Spanish bank last week reported its highest-ever quarterly revenue, although the push to expand in investment banking has also raised costs.
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Wealth management and insurance is A of the five global divisions the bank has created to be organized more by business area than by geography. The unit reported net income of €400 million in the first quarter, representing 14% of Santander group profit.
Among the latest hires is Andres Rodriguez, who joined Santander's Miami office in April as a senior private banker after working at Citigroup Inc. for nearly 19 years, according to his LinkedIn page.
Overall, Santander has 1,300 private bankers who do business with wealthy clients from Spain to Switzerland and Miami. Its Miami operation is focused primarily on Latin American clients who want to park their money in the US.