Granting of banking licence to BANCO SANTANDER, S.A.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (Thursday) that the Monetary Authority has granted a banking licence to BANCO SANTANDER, S.A. ("Santander") under the Banking Ordinance. The granting of this banking licence took effect on 28 November 2007.

Santander is incorporated in Spain. According to the July 2007 issue of The Banker, Santander is the largest bank in Spain and the 10^th largest bank in the world in terms of tier one capital.

After the granting of a banking licence to Santander, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong has increased to 142.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480 or
Hing-fung Wong, Officer (Press), at 2878 1802

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
29 November 2007