Further re Tender Offer

Banco Santander Central Hispano SA
6 April 2001


               BANCO SANTANDER CENTRAL HISPANO RAISES STAKE
                IN BANESPA TO 97.1% FOLLOWING SHARE OFFER


 - The share tender offer, which closed on April 6, brings Banco Santander      
   Central Hispano's stake in the bank to 97.1%

 - The  bid  was for 67% of the bank's capital at a price of 95.22 Reals per    
   1,000 shares. The operation is valued at 2,275 million Reals, or US$ 1,068   
   million

 - The total investment in Banespa following the offer totals US$ 4,870         
   million, equivalent  to  2.1  times book value at the time the bank was      
   acquired last November

Sao Paulo/Madrid, April 6, 2001 - Banco Santander Central Hispano's public share
offer for outstanding minority shares of Banco do Estado de Sao Paulo (Banespa)
concluded successfully today with 95% acceptance for ordinary shares and 96%
for preferred shares. As a result, it now holds 98.3% of the shares with voting
rights (ordinary shares) and 97.1% of the economic capital (preferred shares).

The bid was announced on December 28 for 67% of Banespa's total capital, and
took place between March 2 and April 2. The process of allotting shares closed
today and financial settlement will be on April 11.

As a result of the number of ordinary and preferred shares tendered during the
offer period,  at  a price of 95.22 Reals per 1,000 shares, the operation is
valued at 2,275 million Reals or US$1,068 million. The total investment by
Banco Santander Central Hispano in Banespa now totals US$4,870 million
equivalent to 2.1 times the net worth of the bank at the time it was acquired in
auction on November 20 last year.

This investment in Banespa is a further  demonstration of Santander Central
Hispano's  strong confidence in the Brazilian market, and in the future  of 
Banespa in the State of Sao Paulo, the driving force of Latin America's largest
economy.

Emilio Botin,  co-chairman of Banco Santander Central Hispano, said:  'Step by
step we are fulfilling the plans we have set out for Banespa.  Chairman
Amusategui and I are extremely satisfied.'

Banespa, founded in 1909, has throughout its history been linked to the economic
development of the State of Sao Paulo, where the bulk of its 1,300 offices and
points of sale, as well as its 3.1 million individual customers and small and
medium sized company clients are located. Its US$15.5 billion in assets US$6.45
billion in deposits, US$2.4 billion in loans and US$4 billion in funds under
management make it the private sector bank of reference in the State of Sao
Paulo,  the most prosperous in Brazil.

The Santander Central Hispano Group has 4 million customers in Brazil, and 
approximately US$30 billion in assets. It has a branch network of 1,900 offices 
and points of sale around the country, of which 1,830 are located in the south
and south-eastern states.  In addition to Banespa,  the Group operates the
commercial banking networks of Banco Santander Brasil and Banco Santander
Meridional, and is the largest private sector bank in this geographical area,
with 1,466 offices in the State of San Paulo and 155 in Rio Grande de Sul.
                                                                                
Banco Santander Central Hispano is Spain's leading  financial group, with 
US$407.2 billion in total managed funds, and it provides services to 36 million 
customers in 42 countries around the world through more than 10,000 offices. It
is a bank of reference in Europe,  where it is one of the three largest by
market capitalization in the Euro zone.  It has a network of strategic alliances
with leading banks in the  continent:  The  Royal Bank of Scotland  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  Societe Generale in France, San Paolo-IMI in Italy and
Commerzbank in Germany.  The Group has its own subsidiaries in Germany and 
Portugal, as well as offices in Africa, Asia and Australia.

The Group is also the largest financial services franchise in Latin America, 
with more than US$115 billion in assets and an average market share of 10%. It
is present in 12 countries, which represent 98%  of  the region's GDP  - 
Argentina,  Bolivia,  Brazil,  Chile, Colombia,  Mexico,  Panama, Paraguay,
Peru, Puerto  Rico,  Uruguay and Venezuela  - with a network of more than 4,500 
offices serving 20 million  customers. The franchise comprises 17 banks, 9 
pension fund  managers, 12 mutual funds, 10 insurance companies, 12  brokerages
and 9 leasing and factoring firms.