At Santander, we’ve gone all-out for our customers and shareholders in the coronavirus pandemic.
 

At Santander, we launched a number of ambitious initiatives to safeguard the health of our customers, continue providing our services and offer financial solutions for thousands of people and companies affected by the pandemic. 

We strengthened our customer service hotlines at our contact centres and increased use of our digital channels, which (thanks to Santander's digitalization push in recent years) helped us carry out the lion’s share of the services our customers need. As fewer people visited our branches, we adapted our branch network in certain countries, alongside selective closures and special business hours so customers and employees could be safe.

Since the start of the pandemic, Santander has been proactively customizing solutions to fit the needs of our retail and business customers. We make a point of providing liquidity to our customers, many of whom have seen their income decline in the pandemic.

Santander has supported companies in all our markets by swiftly facilitating government-backed lines of credit and other public assistance measures. We’ve also offered other lines of credit with various amounts and conditions.

We’ve also relaxed loan conditions for people and businesses hit by the pandemic. At Santander, we’ve granted payment holidays in most of the countries where we operate, with grace periods spanning several months.

We’ve also taken extra steps in payment methods to help customers purchase with debit and credit cards.

We revised the Santander dividend and bond policy for 2020 and held hybrid general meetings that shareholders could attend in-person or online.