Fitch affirms Banco Santander

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Banco Santander's long-term issuer default rating at AA, short-term issuer default rating at F1+, senior unsecured rating at AA, subordinated debt at AA-, upper tier 2 subordinated debt at A+, preferred stock at A, short-term issuer default rating at F1+, commercial paper at F1+ and market-linked senior unsecured securities at AAemr.

Fitch also said it affirmed the long-term issuer default ratings of several of Santander subsidiaries.

The outlook is stable.

The affirmations follow the range of acquisitions announced by Santander over the past three months, Fitch said.

The acquisitions make strategic sense, the agency said, as Santander already has a presence in most of these markets and the businesses are complementary to its existing core retail banking operations.

Further significant acquisitions could put pressure on the bank's ratings, especially as capitalization is regarded to be at the bottom end of the range considered to be acceptable for Santander's rating, Fitch added, considering its business mix and risk profile.

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