(Bloomberg) -- Banco Santander SA has hired 40 private bankers so far this year to cater to high—net-worth and ultra wealthy clients in Europe and Latin America as it aims to increase assets under management.
The Spanish lender started boosting the high and ultra-high segment of its private banking business last year and has since hired 90 bankers, according to a person familiar with the appointments. Most hires have been at Santander’s Miami and Mexico units.
Assets under management at Santander’s Wealth Management & Insurance division, which is headed by Victor Matarranz and includes private banking and asset management, grew 14% in the first quarter from a year earlier to €482 billion ($519 billion). The bank aims to reach a target of €500 billion by the end of 2025, the person said.
Other Spanish lenders are also expanding their private banking business. Earlier this year, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA opened a new office in Miami to serve wealthy Latin American clients.
Besides private banking, Santander’s corporate and investment banking unit has also been on a hiring spree as it takes advantage of weakness at its Wall Street peers to grow. The Spanish bank last week reported its highest quarterly revenue ever, though the push to expand in investment banking has also driven up costs.
Read more: Santander Targets Dozens More Credit Suisse Hires in M&A Push
Wealth management and insurance is one of the five global divisions that the bank has created to organize itself more by business areas than by geography. The unit reported net income of €400 million in the first quarter, representing 14% of the Santander group’s profit.
Among the recent hires is Andres Rodriguez, who joined Santander’s Miami office in April as a senior private banker after working at Citigroup Inc. for almost 19 years, according to his LinkedIn page.
Overall, Santander has 1,300 private bankers that do business with wealthy clients from Spain to Switzerland and Miami. Its operation in Miami is mainly focused on Latin American clients who want to park their money in the US.
