(ChinaKnowledge, Sept 19, 2006) Banco Santander Central Hispano SA, Spain's biggest bank, is ¡°studying opportunities'' to purchase a lender in China, a top executive said.

According to a Bloomberg news report, buying a bank in China would allow Santander to integrate its Latin America business with China by extending credit to exporters in both regions, Francisco Luzon, executive vice president in charge of Latin America said in an interview in Singapore, where he was attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings.

However, Luzon did not reveal a possible acquisition target.

The bank, based in Santander, Spain, is focused on growth in Latin America, but Luzon feels that expanding to China is the next rational step the bank can take because Latin America is supplying China with raw materials.

Santander is the biggest foreign lender in Latin America, and expects growth in the region to reach as much as 30% this and next year.

It was reported by the South China Morning Post earlier this month that Grupo Santander, the commercial name under which Santander operates, is among the five international financial institutions still in the running for an up to 10% stake in China CITIC Bank, the country's seventh-largest commercial lender by total assets.

China CITIC Bank has said that it is willing to sell a stake of up to 10% to a single foreign investor ahead of a US$2 billion IPO as early as this year.

The bank is one of the few national commercial banks that have not yet sold a stake to foreign investors.
source:ChinaKnowledge
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