The bank’s work centres on education, employability and entrepreneurship, as well as initiatives in financial education and help for vulnerable people and groups.

Madrid, 11 March 2025.
Banco Santander deployed EUR 166 million in 2024 to education, employability and entrepreneurship initiatives and to financial education, social action and other programmes to benefit five million people in the countries where it operates. 

These figures, achieved under the bank’s sustainability strategy, underline its purpose to help people and businesses prosper and promote sustainable development and equal opportunity.

Investment in education, employability and entrepreneurship

With investment of EUR 104 million last year, Santander affirmed its commitment to higher education , training to boost employability, and entrepreneurship. The bank has worked in these areas for almost 30 years and invested over EUR 2.4 billion in partnership with over 1,100 universities, institutions and organizations.

Its key programmes include:

• Scholarships and grants to university students and researchers to help them access and complete their studies, as well as resources, development opportunities and help with digitalization for academic institutions.
• Training to encourage personal development and promote employability through the Santander Open Academy, Universia and Fundación Universia, helping boost people’s job skills and early career prospects.
• Support to SMEs, startups, scaleups and entrepreneurial initiatives through Santander X to develop and scale their projects and transform their businesses with an extensive non-financial proposition.

Social action and financial education

The bank also deployed over EUR 62 million to other programmes that prioritize financial education, support for vulnerable people and groups, and culture.

Santander channels its work in these areas both directly and through partnerships with NGOs and humanitarian organizations. Some partnerships are with the bank’s foundations in Argentina, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the US.

Financial education is one of Santander’s priorities under its strategy to support vulnerable groups. The aim is to boost people’s financial literacy and provide them with the tools and information they need to understand products, concepts and risks to their personal finances. 

In 2024, Santander also helped the people and communities affected by humanitarian crises and emergencies such as the flash floods in Valencia (Spain), forest fires in Valparaíso (Chile), floods in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), and the earthquake in China’s Gansu and Qinghai provinces.