Following the landmark acquisition of U.S.-based Webster Financial Corp., Spanish banking giant Banco Santander SA unveiled its strategic roadmap for 2026–2028 during an investor day event in London on February 25. The bank committed to raising its annual net profit to more than €20 billion (approximately $23.6 billion) by 2028 and plans to increase its key profitability metric—return on tangible equity (RoTE)—from 16.3% in 2025 to over 20%. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Spanish lender announced that starting with its 2027 results, it will adjust its payout structure by raising the cash dividend share of profits to 35%, while proportionally reducing the share allocated to share buybacks. Previously, the bank's cash dividends and share repurchases were roughly balanced, and its commitment to returning half of its profits to shareholders remains unchanged. Notably, the bank's net profit last year reached a record €14.1 billion. Before the financial targets were announced on Wednesday, analysts' average forecast for 2028 net profit was €18.6 billion. Additionally, the bank set the following goals: 1) distribute excess capital if the CET1 ratio exceeds 13% at the end of the plan period; 2) more than double the cash dividend per share by 2028; 3) achieve "mid-single-digit" annual revenue growth; 4) reduce costs each year; and 5) improve the efficiency ratio to around 36% by 2028. The bank also declared a new cash dividend of €0.125 per share, bringing the total dividend for 2025 to €0.24 per share. Currently, Banco Santander's price-to-book ratio, a metric often used by analysts for valuation, stands at about 1.5. Many investors believe that when this ratio exceeds 1, share buybacks become less attractive to investors. Banco Santander's Executive Chair Ana Botín stated that the plan "sets a new benchmark for profitable growth, aiming to serve over 210 million customers across Europe and the Americas." The new targets come less than a month after Banco Santander agreed to acquire Webster Financial for $12 billion, which would be the largest-ever acquisition of a U.S. lender by a continental European bank. This is also the third deal under Botín's leadership in less than a year: last April, she sold the majority stake in Banco Santander's Polish unit to Erste Group Bank AG for €7 billion, and subsequently acquired U.K. lender TSB from Banco Sabadell SA. In recent years, Banco Santander's profitability has significantly improved, driven by rising interest rates. Although its share price had long lagged behind peers, it more than doubled in 2025, making the bank the highest-valued lender in continental Europe. Several of Banco Santander's major European competitors have also recently updated their strategies and payout plans. Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, said earlier this month that it plans to return approximately €50 billion to investors by 2029; its rival UniCredit SpA has also pledged to distribute the same amount by 2030.