Santander builds on its leadership in Spain's investment banking market

Santander continues to strengthen its investment banking franchise in Spain, supported by strong activity across M&A and equity capital markets.

Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (Santander CIB) has strengthened its position in the Spanish investment banking market, according to an analysis published by Expansión based on preliminary Dealogic data. The report highlights the strong momentum in investment banking activity in Spain and Santander's leading position in the market.

“The Spanish investment banking market continues to show a very significant level of activity in 2026, although with a somewhat different dynamic from previous years,” said Ignacio Domínguez-Adame, Regional Head of Santander CIB Europe.

“We are seeing fewer transactions, but of larger size, in an environment where there continues to be both domestic and international investor appetite, as well as the capacity to finance and execute major transactions.”

Santander has continued to strengthen its investment banking franchise in recent years, expanding its geographical reach and product capabilities while deepening relationships with clients. This has enabled the bank to play a leading role in some of the year's most significant transactions.

“Santander has led some of the main transactions completed this year, including the sale of Urbaser by Platinum to EQT and Blackstone, the acquisition of MasOrange by Orange, the sale of Iberdrola's Mexican subsidiary to Cox and the acquisition of UAX by Cinven,” added Domínguez-Adame.

The recovery in equity capital markets activity has also contributed to the momentum seen across the market.

“We are seeing a clear reactivation of capital markets activity,” he said. “Spain has been the most active European market for IPOs, and Santander has led all IPOs completed in the country so far this year, including Digi and TSK.”

The strong level of activity reflects the resilience of Spanish companies and continued appetite among both domestic and international investors for corporate transactions and growth opportunities in Spain.

Read the full Expansión article here: Santander, JPMorgan y Citi disparan un 50% sus ingresos en banca de inversión