Spanish bank Banco Santander has consolidated all its digital services into a single unit, Santander Global Platform. The bank hopes to have major efficiency gains through this in IT and operations and through shared services across regions. The bank had announced plans in April to spend EUR20 billion on digital technology over the next 4 years as part of an efficiency effort aimed at slashing EUR1.2 billion in annual costs. The bank hopes the new platform will enable the bank to get a better handle on the returns generated by its digital investments. The first set of results from the unit, which includes Openbank, Global Payments Services and Digital Assets, saw an 18% year-on-year increase in customer revenue of €48 million, offset by €108 million in expenses as the bank continued to invest in this area.
