Company: BCDRF
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000891478-25-000054
Chunk: 343

Company: Banco Santander, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 20-F
Chunk 343
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     | Corporate governance |     | Economic and financial review |     | Riskmanagement and compliance |

Moreover, to strengthen a strategic line that is key to Banco Santander's future, and with the aim of providing a strong alignment with PagoNxt's success, the Executive Chair and the Chief Executive Officer will continue to receive restricted stock units (RSUs) of PagoNxt, S.L.

The RSUs substitute part of their variable pay instruments in Banco Santander shares without increasing their total pay and will not represent more than 10% of their variable pay.

Specifically, as regards 2025, Ana Botín would receive the equivalent of EUR 500 thousand in RSUs, and Héctor Grisi would receive the equivalent of EUR 420 thousand in RSUs, in accordance with PagoNxt, S.L.'s long term incentive plan. Each RSU would grant the right to a share in PagoNxt, S.L. or the holding entity of its group (or its equivalent in cash) at the moment when, according to such plan, a liquidity event, a repurchase or a liquidation of such instruments takes place.

This plan is subject to the same principles of risk alignment, variable remuneration caps, deferrals and malus and clawback as the incentive which applies to executive directors described herein, but with payment being done in PagoNxt S.L. instruments.

Also, as detailed at the beginning of chapter 6.3 , Banco Santander conducts an annual comparative review of executive directors’ and top management remuneration. In 2025, the peers that comprise the review are BBVA, BNP Paribas, Citi, Crédit Agricole, HSBC, ING, Itaú, Scotiabank and Unicredit, based on their market capitalization, global scale, brand recognition, geographical diversification, business model and regulatory framework. The incorporation of US and Brazilian banks is justified by the strong presence of Banco Santander in those countries, where Santander is listed (on the New York Stock Exchange and Brazilian Stock Exchange of São Paulo).

Our findings show that Banco Santander does not award its executive directors any remunerative components outside of common market practice.

Principle of equal pay for equal work and equal employment conditions for Santander executives and employees

Santander applies the equal pay principle included in the Corporate remuneration policy of Grupo Santander for executive directors and employees alike, which forbids any type of differential