Directorate Change

Banco Santander Central Hispano SA
21 October 2004


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                                Grupo Santander
   Names Francisco Gomez-Roldan as new Chief Executive of Abbey National plc;
                  Lord Burns to continue as Chairman of Abbey
                                         
Santander, October 21, 2004 - Grupo Santander today announces its intention to 
appoint Mr Francisco Gomez-Roldan as the new Chief Executive of Abbey National, 
subject to and with effect from the completion of the Group's acquisition of the 
bank. Mr Gomez-Roldan is currently Chief Financial Officer of Grupo Santander.

He succeeds Mr Luqman Arnold, Abbey's Chief Executive since 2002. Mr
Gomez-Roldan's appointment is expected to take effect from November
15th, subject to the approval of the Financial Services Authority in the UK. 
Luqman Arnold will work with Santander as a senior advisor to Grupo Santander 
Chairman Emilio Botin.

Lord Burns has agreed to stay on as Chairman.

With degrees in aeronautic engineering and economics, Mr Gomez-Roldan joined
Banco Vizcaya in 1978. In 1984 he became Director General of Banca Catalana
after its acquisition by Vizcaya and was part of its restructuring following its
financial crisis in 1982. Following the merger of Banco Vizcaya and Banco Bilbao
in 1988 to form BBV, Mr Gomez-Roldan played a key role in creating and
developing the investment fund and pensions industry in Spain.

In 1992 he became Finance Director of the newly formed Grupo Argentaria, which
consolidated all of Spain's state-owned banks. There he was responsible for
planning and leading Grupo Argentaria's privatisation and listing on the stock
exchange. He joined the Grupo Argentaria's board as a chief executive officer in
1996, taking responsibility for merging the various banks within the group,
improving efficiency through the use of IT, and growing market share. During his
tenure as CEO the Group's market capitalisation doubled within three years.

He moved to the Grupo Santander unit Banesto in 2000 to become chief executive
and executive director. Banesto had by then completed its financial clean-up and
cost reduction programme. From 2000 Banesto focused on its commercial
development, and it is now Santander's third largest division and the third
largest retail bank in Spain. As CEO of Banesto, Mr Gomez-Roldan oversaw the
development and implementation of the Parthenon information technology platform.

Mr Gomez-Roldan was appointed Finance Director of Grupo Santander in 2002. He
will be succeeded in this post by Jose Antonio Alvarez, a deputy General Manager
of Grupo Santander.

Grupo Santander Chairman Emilio Botin said, 'In my view, the successful
integration of Abbey is the single most important task ahead of us in the coming
year, and with my Board, I am confident that Francisco Gomez-Roldan is the right
man to achieve this. His understanding of Santander and his international
perspective coming from his time as our Finance Director, combined with his
experience at leading successful mergers at BBV and Argentaria, and his tenure
as Chief Executive of Banesto, means that he is uniquely qualified for the
task.'

'I am also delighted that Lord Burns has agreed to stay on as Chairman of Abbey,
helping to provide an important degree of stability and continuity,' Mr Botin
said.

Mr Gomez-Roldan said: 'I am excited about this appointment, and I am looking
forward to moving to the UK, together with my family. Working with Abbey over
the last two months I have been very impressed with the quality and commitment
of the Abbey team. We have a big challenge ahead of us, but I am entirely
confident that together we will realise the immense opportunity presented by
combining the strengths of Abbey and Santander.'

Lord Burns said, 'I am pleased to be continuing as Abbey Chairman, helping with
the integration and continuing the successful turnaround of the bank.'

Mr Gomez-Roldan's appointment as Chief Executive of Abbey was strongly endorsed
by Lord Burns and Luqman Arnold because of his experience in retail bank
management, his international perspective, and his deep knowledge of Grupo
Santander.

Abbey chief executive Luqman Arnold said, 'I am delighted that Santander has
appointed such an experienced chief executive for Abbey. I look forward to
working with Santander in my new role.'

                                      Ends

21 October 2004


Enquiries:

Banco Santander
Keith Grant (Head of International Media)    + 34 91 289 5206
Peter Greiff                                 + 34 91 289 5207

Maitland
Angus Maitland                               + 44 20 7379 5151
Philip Gawith
Martin Leeburn

Brunswick
Rurik Ingram                                 + 44 20 7404 5959


Note to editors:

Photos and CVs are available on request.



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