Company: BCDRF
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000891478-25-000054
Chunk: 985

Company: Banco Santander, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 20-F
Chunk 985
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 not always be effective. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in the control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

3.3 Foreign private issuer and other risks

3.3.1 Our corporate disclosure may differ from disclosure regularly published by issuers of securities in other countries, including the US.

Issuers of securities in Spain are required to make public disclosures that are different from, and that may be reported under presentations that are not consistent with, disclosures required in other countries, including the US. In particular, for regulatory purposes, we currently prepare and will continue to prepare and make available to our shareholders statutory financial statements in accordance with IFRS-IASB, which differs from US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in a number of respects. In addition, as a foreign private issuer, we are not subject to the same disclosure requirements in the US as a domestic US registrant under the Exchange Act, including the requirements to prepare and issue quarterly reports, the proxy rules applicable to domestic US registrants under Section 14 of the Exchange Act or the insider reporting and short-swing profit rules under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. Accordingly, the information about us available to you will not be the same as the information available to shareholders of a US company and may be reported in a manner that you are not familiar with.

3.3.2 Investors may find it difficult to enforce civil liabilities against us or our directors and officers.

The majority of our directors and officers reside outside of the US. In addition, a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of our directors and officers are located outside of the US. Although we have appointed an agent for service of process in any action against us in the US, none of our directors or officers has consented to service of process in the US or to the jurisdiction of any US court. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the US on such persons.

Additionally, investors may experience difficulty in Spain enforcing foreign judgements obtained against us and our executive officers and directors, including in any action based on civil liabilities under the US federal securities laws. Based on the opinion of Spanish counsel, there is doubt as to the enforceability against such persons in Spain, whether in original actions or in actions to enforce judgements of US courts, of liabilities based solely on the US federal securities laws.

3.3.3 As a holder of ADSs you will have different shareholders’ rights than do shareholders of companies incorporated in the US and certain other