Doha – Qatar: Banco Santander has opened a new representative office in Doha, Qatar. The office will allow the bank to further improve the service it offers customers, helping channel investment between the region and its existing markets, while enhancing the Group’s extensive corporate banking and wealth management capabilities.

The new location, incorporated in the Qatar Financial Centre, will provide local coverage for clients based in the region, leveraging Santander’s existing global product and operational infrastructure, while also enhancing the capabilities of the group across all markets.

The office will be led by Ziad El-Saigh as Senior Country Executive, who joins from Credit Suisse where he was responsible for coverage of financial institutions, government related entities and high net worth individuals in Qatar. He has over twenty years experience in financial services having also held senior roles in HSBC, based in Qatar and Dubai.

Ziad El-Saigh, Senior Country Executive at Santander’s Qatar office, said: “The Middle East is an increasingly important market for our clients. Having a presence in Doha, one of the fastest growing financial centres in the world, will allow us to better support the needs of both corporate and wealth customers, leveraging Santander’s unique global presence and multidisciplinary teams.”

Commenting on the opening of the Santander representative office, Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, Board Member and Chief Executive Officer, QFC, said: "We welcome Banco Santander's unparalleled service to both corporate and wealth clients in Qatar. The establishment of their representative office in the Qatar Financial Centre signifies a shared commitment to delivering premium financial solutions for our stakeholders. By leveraging Qatar's strategic regional position and Santander's extensive global network, we strengthen Doha's position as a premier financial destination, where local expertise and global networks converge to empower businesses."

Santander serves 165 million customers across Europe and the Americas, with offices in several other markets supporting the needs of clients, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing. The new office compliments the bank’s existing global network. Santander Private Banking also expanded its activity in the Middle East by establishing a branch in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to serve clients in the region.

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ABOUT THE QATAR FINANCIAL CENTRE

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is an onshore business and financial centre located in Doha, providing an excellent platform for firms to do business in Qatar and the region. The QFC offers its own legal, regulatory, tax and business environment, which allows up to 100% foreign ownership, 100% repatriation of profits, and charges a competitive rate of 10% corporate tax on locally sourced profits. The QFC welcomes a broad range of financial and non-financial services firms.

ABOUT BANCO SANTANDER

Banco Santander is a leading commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain. It has a meaningful presence in 10 core markets in the Europe, North America and South America regions, and is one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization. Santander aims to be the best open financial services platform providing services to individuals, SMEs, corporates, financial institutions and governments. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper in a simple, personal and fair way. Santander is building a more responsible bank and has made a number of commitments to support this objective, including raising €220 billion in green financing between 2019 and 2030. At the end of 2023, Banco Santander had €1.3 trillion in total funds, 165 million customers, 8,500 branches and over 212,000 employees.

MEDIA CONTACTS
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