Disposal

Banco Santander Central Hispano SA
24 May 2002


                      SANTANDER CENTRAL HISPANO SELLS 
                      PATAGON AMERICA AND CONCENTRATES 
                       ITS PATAGON BUSINESS IN EUROPE

Wenceslao Casares, Guillermo Kirchner acquire the Latin American affiliate, 
which will cease to operate under the Patagon name

Madrid, 24th May 2002. Santander Central Hispano has concluded the restructuring
process of Patagon Euro S.L., the holding company which comprised Patagon.com
International Inc and its affiliates (Patagon America), Santander Direkt Bank
(Germany) and Patagon Internet Bank (Spain).

The Group has acquired 11.41% of the share capital (shares and share rights) of
Patagon Euro S.L. previously held by Wenceslao Casares, Guillermo Kirchner and
other minority shareholders for 22.02 million dollars, thus gaining control of
100% of the company's capital. It has subsequently sold 100% of Patagon America
to Wenceslao Casares and Guillermo Kirchner for 9.84 million dollars.

The agreement includes the transfer of the Patagon brand name to Patagon Euro,
establishing a maximum time-limit of 30 days for Patagon America to cease
operating under this name. Furthermore, Patagon America accepts responsibility
in respect of third-party claims on it.

The Santander Central Hispano Group will charge a total amount of 700 million
euros against its earnings statement for the second quarter. This includes an
amount of 616 million euros with respect to goodwill pending amortisation.

Following this operation, SCH will concentrate its on-line banking activity in
Europe, with the aim of consolidating profitability in Spain and Germany.
Patagon Internet Bank has over 273,000 customers, an increase of 95,000 over the
past year, and balance sheet funds of 2,170 million euros. In Germany, Patagon
has 130,000 customers and a business volume of 1,690 million euros.

In Latin America, the Group has developed a standard Internet platform for the
11 countries in which it operates. Over 900,000 customers operate via this
alternative channel, representing a market penetration of 11%. Over 14 million
operations and consultations are made each month using this platform, of which
more than 1.2 million are operational transactions




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