Company: BCDRF
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000891478-25-000054
Chunk: 287

Company: Banco Santander, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 20-F
Chunk 287
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 the request of at least three directors. The Lead Independent Director is also authorized to request a board meeting or that new items be added to the agenda for a meeting that has already been called.

Directors must attend meetings in person, either physically or virtually, and endeavour to limit their absence to situations of absolute necessity. The nomination committee checks that directors attend at least 75% of board and committee meetings and that any absence has a valid excuse without raising doubt about the director's commitment to good governance. For more details, see 'Board and committee preparation and attendance' in this section 4.3.

If directors are unable to attend a meeting, they can designate (in writing and on a special basis for each session) another director to act on their behalf. Proxies are granted with instructions. Non-executive directors may only be represented by other non-executive directors. A director can hold more than one proxy.

The board may meet in various rooms at the same time, provided that members can interact in real time to ensure interactivity and intercommunication via audio-visual means or telephone.

Board meetings are validly quorate when more than half of its members attend in person or by proxy.

Annual report 2024 273

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

Resolutions are adopted by absolute majority of the directors in attendance. The chair has the casting vote in the event of a tie. The Bylaws and the Rules and regulations of the board only require the qualified majorities according to law. The secretary of the board keeps the board’s documents on file and records the content of meetings in meeting minutes. Meeting minutes of the board and committees include statements members expressly request to be put on record. Moreover, the secretary oversees the monitoring of the actions that the board and its committees must perform that the parties responsible for are dully informed of. The board may hire legal, accounting or financial advisers and other experts at Banco Santander’s expense for assistance with their duties.

| Comparison of number of meetings heldA                |     |                 |    |     |               |      |     |            |     |     |            |     |
|                                                       |     | Banco Santander |    |     | Spain average |      |     | US average |     |     | UK average |     |
| Board                                                 |     |                 | 18 |     |               | 11.2 |     |