MADRID, Spain, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grupo Santander and Bank of America have reached an agreement to transfer a portion of Bank of America's wealth management portfolio to Santander Private Banking. Under the terms of the agreement, certain Latin American wealth management clients in the U.S. will be transferred, with their prior consent, to Santander Private Banking. The agreement will affect about 6,000 client relationships of Bank of America, accounting for approximately $3.5 billion in business volumes (assets plus deposits). "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with this select group of clients and are confident that our services will meet and exceed their expectations. We have a proven track record of dedication and commitment to our clients and have always provided them with the highest standards in the industry," said Jose Manuel Maceda, managing director for Santander Private Banking. The agreement is in line with Bank of America's goal of transferring its international wealth management business to select wealth management providers to better serve the needs and wishes of those customers. Santander Private Banking is the Santander group's specialized international private banking unit and a leader in private banking in Latin America, where it has around $30 billion in assets under management. Grupo Santander has more than 20 million customers in Latin America. About Santander: Grupo Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) is the largest bank in the euro zone and fourth largest in Europe by market capitalization. Founded in 1857, Santander has EUR 818,100 million in assets and EUR 976,500 million in managed funds, 67 million customers, 10,300 offices and a presence in 40 countries. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America, the sixth largest in the United Kingdom, through its Abbey unit, and the third largest in Portugal. Through Santander Consumer Finance, it also operates a leading consumer finance franchise in Germany, Italy, Spain and ten other European countries. In the U.S., Santander has a 24.9% stake in Sovereign Bancorp., Inc. of Pennsylvania. In 2005, Santander recorded EUR 6.22 billion in net profit, up 72.5% from the previous year. For more information on Santander, visit http://www.santander.com/. DATASOURCE: Santander CONTACT: Media contacts: Peter Greiff, +34-91-289-5207, ; or Angela Roche, +34-91-289-2398, , both of Santander Web site: http://www.santander.com/ http://www.santandernet.com/

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