Company: BCDRF
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000891478-25-000054
Chunk: 277

Company: Banco Santander, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 20-F
Chunk 277
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ance, experience and knowledge.

• Gender. The nomination committee and the board of directors understand the importance of fostering equal opportunity between men and women as well as the need for women board members who meet the suitability requirement. In this regard, the policy includes the gender equality target set by the nomination committee for women and men to account for between 40% and 60% of the total members of the board.

40% of our board members are women, meeting the target for the less represented gender at the board set out in the Organic Law on Equal Representation and Balanced Presence of Women and Men, which from June 2026 will require the boards of the 35 companies with the highest market capitalization to have the least-represented gender account for 40% or more of its members.

• Age. Our policy also considers that selection must promote age diversity. There are no age limits for becoming a director nor for the roles of chair and chief executive officer.

• Country of origin/international education. Selection considers cultural diversity, geographical provenance, and international education and experience, especially in the Group's core markets.

• Education and career. Selection considers candidates' academic training and career history to ensure they are qualified to understand our Group’s businesses, structure and markets, and that they fit within the Santander culture and other aspects deemed material to the Group.

Annual report 2024 265

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

Moreover, our policy stipulates that board member selection must not have any implicit bias that could lead to any form of discrimination, based for instance on disability, race or ethnic origin.

The policy follows the European Banking Authority (EBA) and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) joint guidelines on the suitability assessment of board members and key functions holders, as well as the ECB's Guide to fit and proper assessments.

Board skills and diversity matrix

The nomination committee updates a 'Board skills and diversity matrix' that reflects the balance of the knowledge, skills, qualifications, diversity and experience required to pursue our long-term strategy in an ever-changing market.

It considers the recommendations of the EBA and ESMA guidelines on the suitability assessment of board members and key functions holders, as well as the ECB´s Guide to fit and proper assessments.

The matrix follows this structure:

• We distinguish between thematic (technical) and horizontal skills.

• We include a separate diversity section that details gender, country of