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World's Strongest Banks: Banco Santander

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World's Strongest Banks: Banco Santander

Banco Santander—the euro zone's largest bank by market value—is emerging as one of the few winners in the global economic crisis. When Britain's government nationalized beleaguered mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley on Sept. 29, the Spanish bank quickly agreed to pay $1.09 billion for its retail branches. That move came only days after Santander sealed a $2.24 billion acquisition of British lender Alliance & Leicester. The bank has also made a preliminary offer for Germany's Deutsche Postbank.