0619 GMT - The market capitalization of Spanish bank Santander crossed the 100 billion euro threshold at market close on Tuesday. Its shares ended the session 1.8% higher at 6.62 euros--their highest price since September 2014--giving it a market capitalization of 100.38 billion euros. The bank is the European Union's biggest by market capitalization and is followed by France's BNP Paribas and Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo. Peers such as Switzerland's UBS and the U.K.'s HSBC--which aren't part of the EU--are larger. The European banking sector has seen soaring share prices in the past three years as higher interest rates booster their top lines, allowing them to return bumper payouts to shareholders. Santander has gained 48% since the start of the year, compared with a 28% rally for the Stoxx Europe 600 Banks index. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 26, 2025 02:19 ET (06:19 GMT)
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