A2 · ElementaryAdapted from Expansión

Santander's CEO: Why This Bank Chooses Slow Growth

El banco que prefiere crecer despacio

Sep 28, 20261 min readGraded Spanish · word-by-word audio

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Héctor Grisi es el consejero delegado de Santander. Él dice que el banco tiene una prioridad clara: el crecimiento orgánico. Esto significa crecer sin comprar otros bancos.

El banco ha comprado dos bancos: Webster y TSB. Ahora necesita tiempo para integrarlos bien. Por eso, Santander entra en una pausa de dos años. Durante este tiempo, no va a comprar más bancos. Quiere digerir bien estas compras.

Pero Grisi también dice que el banco será flexible. Si aparece una buena oportunidad, puede cambiar de idea. La prioridad es el crecimiento orgánico, pero lo más importante es lograr la mayor rentabilidad. El banco usará su capital de la mejor manera para los accionistas.

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Watch out, English speaker

English speakers often translate 'ir a + infinitive' as 'go to + verb,' but it actually means 'going to + verb' for future plans. For example, 'No va a comprar más bancos' means 'It is not going to buy more banks,' not 'It goes to buy.' Unlike English, Spanish uses this structure far more often than the simple future tense in everyday speech. English speakers may try to say 'the most important is' with 'el más importante es,' but Spanish requires the neuter article 'lo': 'lo más importante es.' This 'lo' turns the adjective 'más importante' into an abstract noun meaning 'the most important thing.' Using 'el' instead would refer to a specific masculine noun, which is incorrect here. When using 'lo más importante es,' English speakers often add 'que' or a conjugated verb, but Spanish typically follows it directly with an infinitive or a noun. For example, 'Lo más importante es lograr...' means 'The most important thing is to achieve...' Do not insert 'para' or 'que' unless the sentence structure requires it.

Key vocabulary

consejero delegadom.
CEO; chief executive officer
“Héctor Grisi es el consejero delegado de Santander.”— Héctor Grisi is the CEO of Santander.
Pattern the CEO of...
Compare director general CEO
Plural: consejeros delegados
💡 consejero comes from consejo (advice), delegado means "delegated", together it means "a delegated manager".
crecimientom.
growth
“La prioridad es el crecimiento orgánico.”— The priority is organic growth.
Pattern organic growth
Compare aumento increase
Plural: crecimientos
💡 From the verb crecer (to grow), -imiento is a noun suffix, similar to English -ment.
orgánicoadj.
organic; natural
“El crecimiento orgánico es la prioridad del banco.”— Organic growth is the bank's priority.
Pattern organic growth
Compare natural natural
Feminine: orgánica; plural: orgánicos/orgánicas
💡 In business, orgánico refers to growth that comes from the company itself rather than through acquisitions.
rentabilidadf.
profitability; return
“Lo más importante es lograr la mayor rentabilidad.”— The most important thing is to achieve the highest profitability.
Pattern greater return
Compare beneficio profit
Plural: rentabilidades
💡 From rentable (profitable), -idad is a noun suffix, similar to English -ity.
accionistam./f.
shareholder
“El banco usará su capital para los accionistas.”— The bank will use its capital for the shareholders.
Pattern the shareholders
Compare socio partner
Plural: accionistas
💡 From acción (share), -ista means "a person who does...", i.e. "a person who holds shares".
pausaf.
pause; break
“Santander entra en una pausa de dos años.”— Santander enters a two-year pause.
Pattern a two-year pause
Compare descanso rest
Plural: pausas
💡 From Latin pausa, cognate with English pause.
digerirv.
to digest; to integrate
“Quiere digerir bien estas compras.”— It wants to digest these purchases well.
Pattern to digest acquisitions
Compare asimilar absorb
Present: digerir → digiero, digieres, digiere...
💡 Literally "to digest food", in business it metaphorically means "to integrate acquired companies".
flexibleadj.
flexible
“El banco será flexible.”— The bank will be flexible.
Pattern to be flexible
Compare adaptable adaptable
Plural: flexibles
💡 Cognate with English flexible, from Latin flectere (to bend).
capitalm.
capital; funds
“El banco usará su capital de la mejor manera.”— The bank will use its capital in the best way.
Pattern to use capital
Compare fondos funds
Plural: capitales
💡 Cognate with English capital, note that in Spanish it is a masculine noun.

Grammar spotlight

ir a + infinitive (future plans)

This structure expresses what someone is going to do. It is more common in everyday spoken Spanish than the simple future tense. The structure is: ir (conjugated) + a + infinitive verb.

“No va a comprar más bancos.”— It is not going to buy more banks.

⚠️ Don't forget the 'a'. You cannot say 'no va comprar'.

Sentence patterns to steal

La prioridad es el crecimiento orgánico, pero seremos flexibles para lograr la mayor rentabilidad.
The priority is organic growth, but we will be flexible to achieve the greatest return.
La prioridad es + noun, pero seremos flexibles para + infinitiveYou can replace 'crecimiento orgánico' with other goals, such as 'la calidad' (quality).
Tenemos muy claro lo que tenemos que hacer con nuestro capital.
We are very clear about what we have to do with our capital.
Tenemos muy claro lo que tenemos que + infinitiveYou can replace 'hacer con nuestro capital' with other things, such as 'decir' (say).
El banco usará su capital de la mejor manera para los accionistas.
The bank will use its capital in the best way for the shareholders.
usar + noun + de la mejor manera para + personYou can replace 'capital' with 'tiempo' (time), 'dinero' (money), etc.

Banco Santander: Spain's Largest Bank

Banco Santander is the largest bank in Spain and one of the largest in the world. It was founded by Emilio Botín in 1857 and is headquartered in the city of Santander, Spain. The bank has significant operations in Europe and the Americas, and its acquisitions of Webster and TSB were important steps in its global expansion.

Source: Wikipedia (Banco Santander)

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