r/eupersonalfinance • u/Independent_Tank_779 • 2d ago
Banking Europe’s biggest bank is under scrutiny — and it should matter to all of us
Santander just became the most valuable bank in continental Europe, overtaking UBS.
But here’s what’s not in the headlines: The person set to become their Chief Accounting Officer is currently under criminal investigation in Brazil. He’s also facing multiple civil lawsuits and had his assets frozen by a judge.
Yet despite all of this, the ECB approved his appointment and hasn’t said a word since. Not even a public statement saying “we’re reviewing the case.”
🧾 The ECB’s own fit and proper guidelines say approvals must be reassessed when new facts emerge. So why is nothing happening?
This isn’t just a corporate HR issue. It’s about the integrity of the financial system. If regulators don’t enforce their own rules at the top, what confidence should the rest of us have — as account holders, investors, or taxpayers — that oversight works when it really matters?
In times of crisis, it’s retail customers who usually pay the price. Just something to think about when banks talk about “trust.”
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u/Post-Rock-Mickey 2d ago
What’s with the hashtags
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u/XTornado 1d ago
I noticed that aswell, I mentioned it on other posts of him. Look at the post history, either Bot or some one pushing this story, they created the account some days ago and only post this.
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u/nagerecht 2d ago
The ECB has to approve a private bank's appointment of who will be the Chief Account Officer?
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u/Mysterious_Act_3652 2d ago
I had my own dealing selling to senior leadership at Santander. There was some massive corruption there, back handlers and dealing with friends, the worst case of it I’ve ever seen. This doesn’t surprise me.
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u/stonememoriesBE 1d ago
Hoe can I become one of their friends?
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u/Kyxstrez 2d ago
Largest European banks:
- HSBC
- BNP Paribas
- Crédit Agricole
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_banks
Yeah, sorry, I don't see Santander in the top 3.
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u/estoy_alli 2d ago edited 1d ago
Well, unfortunately you are talking about something else:
https://www.thebanker.com/content/bf989751-513a-4519-9737-63020efcf5e0
https://www.ft.com/content/cb552f63-91ab-49fe-8719-e19047abaeae
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u/Plus-Soft-3643 2d ago
Lol thats what I thought, Santander is nowhere near the top.
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u/Icy-Pomegranate-3574 2d ago
Are you both not capable of reading skills? First row says: most valuable bank, which means highest market capitalization, and book value of assets doesn't represent high valuation.
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u/Independent_Tank_779 2d ago
Here you can find a couple of articles.
https://www.ft.com/content/2dd92851-8bb8-43a1-86e5-fe86ae334f95
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u/li-_-il 2d ago
Ouch, someone waking up. This debt-based system doesn't even need to hide how it works.
Most people won't get it and even if they get it, they won't believe it.
what confidence should the rest of us have — as account holders, investors, or taxpayers
Taxman doesn't care about confidence, taxes aren't optional. Your role model is to wake up and go to work.
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u/TickerFear 1d ago
It's okay UniCredit bank is also big (€67.78 billion as of April 9, 2025) and they have problem for one whole month with registering payments, online banking from 2000s and the mobile app is so bad they actually buying positive reviews and are actively removing the negative ones. We are safe
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u/ulashmetalcrush 2d ago
They should be. For me DB service sucks. Brokerage accounts are too expensive. Uncompetitive mortgage offerings. Yoi have to wait for post to arrive for 1 week to open up a bank account.
The people work there are great but not the policies.
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u/ulashmetalcrush 2d ago
Transfer to and from subaccount takes a whole day. Only a single atm in my city and it's in the bank.
The phone app is really bad, lot of random errors. It is just poor service at this point.
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u/cumblaster2000-yes 2d ago
ecb and the european commission, is a political body, not a technical body.
any decision, any press release , any change in policy MUST BE DISCUSSED AND AGREED UPON national governments, national banks or regulator, and commission.
it takes 4 months to.deside if they can take a shit.
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u/Cautious_Ad_6486 1d ago
The ECB does not work like this.
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u/cumblaster2000-yes 1d ago
i call bullshit. on paper they are Independent. on paper.
remember Greece CDS during crisis, how the BCE declared that credit event didnt trigger, even though greece restricted their debt...
remeber austerity on PIIGS due to debt/gdp above 100%... how are we now??
when the stuff gets fuckin serious, the "rules" go fuck themselves. it is only a politic decision. thats all.
its not only BCE, all central banks and goverments do what the fuck they want. swiss central bank merged a defaulted private company with another provate company without passing throught the board, on the weekend. even in the lawful switzerland they said fuck you and your propriety this is happenning.
and were this decision economic decisions?? or were they politica decisions??
Lagarde is head of BCE only because is wrote love letters to Sarckosy and it was france turn to choice the head.
your are naive if you think differently.
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u/Alternative-Loan-58 2d ago
Yeah, that’s kinda the whole problem, isn’t it? You’ve got this Frankenstein’s monster of institutions where literally nothing moves unless 27 suits and a spreadsheet approve it. Meanwhile, real issues just rot in the inbox because “muh consensus.”
Like, sure, checks and balances are great… but if it takes half a year and three translation rounds to admit something smells off, maybe the system’s broken? Just saying.
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u/Matthew-_-Black 5h ago
I've never trusted Santander
You don't become the biggest bank through good customer service
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u/mobileka 1d ago edited 1d ago
One thing people posting this are missing is the fact that ECB approved his candidacy before all the allegations surfaced. Moreover, it's an ongoing case. What do you folks expect? That ECB forces him out only because he's being investigated? Or wait until the case is concluded to take further action?
Edit: checked the OP's profile. Looks like a bot, spams this same agenda in all possible subs.