Business Context and Reporting Period
Company: Banco Santander, S.A.
Filing Type: Form 6-K (Report of Foreign Issuer)
Date: February 10, 2026
Context: This filing announces changes to the Group's financial information presentation effective from the first quarter of 2026, coinciding with an upcoming Investor Day. The changes follow the completion of the sale of a 49% stake in Santander Bank Polska to Erste Group in January 2026. The adjustments aim to enhance transparency and comparability without altering attributable profit or financial targets.
Key Financial Metrics (2025 Adjusted)
The filing provides adjusted 2025 figures reflecting the new reporting standards. Key metrics include:
- Total Revenue: €62,390 million (Adjusted from €58,308 million published).
- Total Costs: €25,725 million (Adjusted from €26,410 million published).
- Underlying Profit: €14,101 million (Adjusted from €13,152 million published).
- Attributable Profit: €14,101 million (Unchanged from published figures).
- Loans and Advances: €1,024 billion (Adjusted from €984 billion published).
- Deposits: €998 billion (Adjusted from €944 billion published).
- Risk-Weighted Assets (RWAs): €629 billion (Adjusted from €600 billion published).
- Efficiency Ratio: 41.2% (Adjusted from 45.3% published).
- Underlying RoTE (post-AT1): 16.3% (Adjusted from 15.2% published).
- Statutory RoTE (post-AT1): 16.3% (Unchanged).
- Cost of Risk (12m): 1.15% (Adjusted from 1.14% published).
- NPL Ratio: 2.91% (Unchanged).
Material Changes Versus Prior Period
The filing details significant reclassifications affecting the 2025 reported numbers to align with the new structure:
- Poland Disposal: Results associated with Santander Bank Polska are now reported in "non-recurring items" rather than underlying results. Loans, deposits, and RWAs no longer include Poland balances in the underlying metrics.
- Cost Classification: Bank levies and certain taxes, previously in "other results and provisions," are reclassified to "other operating income" due to their structural nature. Other recurring operating costs (labor, legal) are reclassified to "total costs."
- Segment Reporting:
- Cards Business: Reclassified from "Payments" to "Retail." Plard (card processing platform) remains in "Payment Solutions."
- Renaming: "Consumer" segment renamed to "Openbank." "Payments" renamed to "Payment Solutions."
- Ratio Definitions: Enhanced definitions for Cost of Risk (CoR) and Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratios now include corporate exposures from private fixed income products to improve accuracy. Spain's Return on Tangible Equity (RoTE) calculation has been updated to allocate theoretical tangible equity based on a 13% CET1 ratio requirement.
Guidance, Outlook, and Risks
Outlook and Targets: Management states that these reporting adjustments do not affect the Group's financial targets announced on February 3, 2026. The changes are intended to better align reporting with how the business is managed.
Risks and Contingencies: The filing includes standard forward-looking statement warnings regarding:
- General economic conditions (inflation, deflation, wars in Ukraine and Middle East).
- Operational risks (cyberattacks, data breaches).
- Market risks (interest rates, FX, equity prices).
- Political instability in key operating regions (Spain, UK, Latin America, US).
- Regulatory changes and climate-related conditions.
- Liquidity and funding access risks.
Unusual Items: The sale of the 49% stake in Santander Bank Polska is treated as a non-recurring item in the new reporting structure.
Investor Verification Checklist
- Verify the impact of the Poland disposal on future quarterly comparability, as underlying results will exclude this entity.
- Confirm the reclassification of bank levies to "other operating income" and its effect on the efficiency ratio trend.
- Review the new "Payment Solutions" segment metrics, noting that RoTE is no longer provided for this segment as it is now viewed as a platform business.
- Check the updated Cost of Risk and NPL ratio definitions, specifically the inclusion of private fixed income products, to ensure accurate credit quality assessment.
- Monitor the "Openbank" segment performance following the rebranding from "Consumer."
- Validate that the theoretical tangible equity allocation for Spain aligns with the stated 13% CET1 ratio methodology.