Santander wins best global retail bank award
Spanish bank Santander has won the Best Global Retail Bank category at the Retail Banker International Global Awards.??Santander, which was nominated in six categories, also won the award for M&A Deal of the Year.
“Santander´s performance as well as activities such as the strategic sale of Banca Antonveneta in the aftermath of the ABN Amro deal was truly outstanding in a year where many of its peers posted results ranging from flat to dire results,” said Hugh Fasken, Editor of Retail Banker International. Santander´s profits were up 19% compared with 2006 and its focus on technology and cost controls has allowed it to reduce its efficiency ratio to 44%.
JP Morgan Chase, Standard Chartered and UniCredit, each won regional awards for retail banking excellence while Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, received the award for CEO/Chairman of the Year. Dimon was a convincing winner of the category even without the high-profile deal to acquire Bear Stearns, says Fasken. Under his stewardship Chase has performed well in a difficult year, notably avoiding the need to attract infusions of international capital to shore up its Tier 1 capital. ??
The awards, held in London, honour innovation and leadership in the global retail banking industry. Below is a list of all the winners of this year´s awards:??Best Retail Bank – Global: Santander?Best Retail Bank – Americas: Chase?Best Retail Bank – Europe, Middle East and Africa: UniCredit?Best Retail Bank – Asia: Standard Chartered?Award for Most Exciting Emerging Bank: ICICI?Best Branch Strategy: Commonwealth Bank of Australia?Best Multi-Channel Distribution Strategy: Bank of America?Award for Product Innovation: Capital One – decoupled debit card?Best Overall Marketing Strategy: BBVA?Best Integration of CSR into Retail Banking Strategy: Rabobank?Best Cross-Border Expansion Strategy: ANZ?Best – or Most Threatening – Non-Bank Competitor: Zopa.com?M&A Deal of the Year: Santander/Antonveneta??Awards for Bankers?CEO/Chairperson of the year: Dimon/JPMorgan Chase?Retail Banker of the Year: DeNoma/Standard Chartered