Banco Santander SA unveiled its Beijing branch on May 23 in Beijing. Its Executive Director and Vice President Juan Rodríguez Inciarte, its Asia Pacific CEO Juan Manuel San Román, Beijing Branch President Zhou Wei attended the ceremony.

Banco Santander said that its future strategic investment would focus on Asia Pacific market, especially China.

Banco Santander has 10 core markets, where it is among the top 3 leading banks or has a market share of more than 10 percent. Its core markets are mainly located in Europe and America, including Spain, Portugal, the UK, Germany, Poland, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and the US.

In those 10 markets, Banco Santander has subsidiary banks, maintaining complete independence on capital and liquid capital and reporting to the local regulators.

Banco Santander is endeavoring to increase its competence in Asia. Its regional headquarter is located in Hong Kong, with branches in Sydney, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing, and representative offices in Seoul, Tokyo and Bombay.

Santander Consumer Bank AG is one of the most significant blueprints of Banco Santander and it will prioritize the consumer finance in Asia. By now, Banco Santander has set up a joint venture, the Fortune Auto Finance Co, with the Jianghuai Automotive Company Ltd. It is also the second largest shareholder of Bank of Beijing Consumer Finance Company.

Currently, Banco Santander is still assessing the opportunities in consumer finance in other Asian countries. At the same time, as a strategic investor in Bank of Shanghai, Banco Santander will cooperate with the Shanghai lender to develop and expand its business.

Zhou Wei, head of the Beijing branch, said initially he will focus on clients from core markets who have already entered or want to enter the Asian market, as well as Chinese clients intended to enter into Europe and Latin America.

His branch will mainly provide products and services related to trade and investment.

Zhou highlighted the Strategy of "Three Pillars" adopted by Banco Santander in China. The first pillar is to launch wholesale banking business through the network of branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. There are close relations among the branches in these three cities, the headquarters and all branches of Banco Santander. The second pillar is the auto and consumer finance. The third one is the strategic investment in Bank of Shanghai. As its strategic investor and partner, the Branch will work closely with Bank of Shanghai.