Banco Santander shares spiked over 6% on Wednesday after the lender unveiled plans for €10 billion (£8.3 billion) worth of buybacks after delivering a record full-year profit.
Profit jumped 14% to €12.6 billion in 2024 on a 10% increase in revenue to €62.2 billion, the Spanish bank reported.
Strong revenue growth was recorded across all global businesses and regions, it added, as some eight million customers were added to take its total to 173 million.
Customer funds increased 4% on a constant currency basis, as net interest income grew by 8% on stronger retail trading in most countries.
The UK was an “exception” though, Santander said, as lower mortgage volumes and higher deposit costs hit, alongside the US.
Speculation had built around a potential exit from the UK for Santander ahead of the results, though this was later denied.
Shares jumped 6.7% to 449.62p on Wednesday.