Botin Calls on Santander's Investors to Lobby ECB Over Capital

(Bloomberg) -- Ana Botin on Wednesday tried to enlist investors and analysts covering Banco Santander SA to lobby on behalf of the Spanish lender to persuade the European Central Bank that its capital requirements are too tough.

“You all need to help us,” Botin said in a presentation in London, where the bank unveiled a new business strategy. “If you think the sector has enough capital in Europe you should go and spend some time in Frankfurt and make your point.”

Santander has long defended its policy on capital, claiming its retail business is lower risk than other types of banking and therefore doesn’t need the same level of cushioning to absorb losses. By requiring banks to build up “buffers and buffers and buffers,” the ECB doesn’t seem to understand the impact that could have on the activity of banks and the wider economy, Botin said.

The problem for lenders is that European regulators keep moving the target, said Botin after outlining how Santander will meet its mid-term target CET1 fully-loaded ratio target of 11 percent to 12 percent.

The ECB’s regulatory requirements are affecting not only Europe’s banks but also the economy since it discourages lending, she said. As many as 90 percent of loans to small- and medium-sized companies come from banks, said Botin.

“At some point enough is enough,” she said. “You need to help us because we are an interested party. You represent investors, you represent people that have pensions across Europe.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Charlie Devereux in Madrid at cdevereux3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Charles Penty, Marion Dakers

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