Santander to issue stakes worth €7.5 bln

Banco Santander (BS) is considering issuing 1,258 stocks in an accelerated book building (ABB). The Spanish lender aims to earn €7.5 billion. Share dealing was to be reopened on Friday. The cash infusion will allow BS to take advantage of economic growth expected to burst in countries where the bank has been present, the press release stated. What is more, thanks to the issue, the lender will fully reach the equity ratio of the Basel III agreement at 10 percent. BS proposes a dividend value of €0.20 per share in 2015 (in 4 tranches) and a profit percentage of 30-40 percent in the following years. Net profit of the main shareholders totaled €5.8 billion in 2014 (an increase by 30 pct y/y), BG estimated. The Spanish lender is the biggest shareholder of Polish Bank Zachodni WBK. BS shares debuted at the WSE main market last December.