Company: BCDRF
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000891478-25-000054
Chunk: 231

Company: Banco Santander, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 20-F
Chunk 231
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 Barrabés joined with effect from 27 June 2024.

1.2 Board effectiveness

Board effectiveness review and actions to continuously improve

Corporate governance is a priority for Santander. Our governance model has consistently received strong support from shareholders, as evidenced by their high participation in general meetings and strong approval rates for corporate management, the appointment and re-election of directors. Governance practices need to adapt to business and strategic needs, so we continuously look for opportunities for improvement.

The annual board effectiveness review, in which we periodically enlist the help of external independent advisors, is key to our commitment to good governance and allows us to verify the quality and effectiveness of the functioning of our governance bodies. It also ensures that the board is able to support management appropriately and to oversee it through constructive challenge. During 2024, the nomination committee monitored execution of the action plan derived from the 2023 board effectiveness review, which was conducted in cooperation with Spencer Stuart as external independent firm and successfully completed in June 2024.

In 2024, the board conducted its annual effectiveness review internally. The areas for improvement were reviewed by the nomination committee and the board of directors and the resultant action plan was approved in January 2025. See 'Board effectiveness review in 202 4 ' in section 4.3.

Group and subsidiary board relations

The ongoing strength of the ties between the Group's and its subsidiaries' boards of directors is key to effective oversight of policies, controls and corporate culture. The challenges of the current macroeconomic landscape evidence the need for effective cross-border cooperation within the Group, which our proven Group Subsidiary Governance Model (GSGM) facilitates.

The strength of our governance model is maintained through a number of coordination mechanisms that are in place between the Group and subsidiaries, as follows:

Group nominated directors

A number of Group directors and top managers are also members of the boards of our subsidiaries, which facilitates the management bodies' coordination and the strategic alignment of the local boards. See section 7. 'Group structure and internal governance' .

Annual report 2024 236

| Contents |     | Business model and strategy |     | Sustainability statement |     | Corporate governance |     | Economic and financial review |     | Riskmanagement and compliance |

Group and subsidiary committee relations

In 2024, the audit committee and risk supervision, regulation and compliance committee Chairs attended subsidiary committee meetings. In turn, they invited their local counterparts to join the respective Banco Santander committee meetings throughout the year. This helped to enhance communication and the sharing