Notice of annual general meeting
BANCO SANTANDER, S.A.
Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting
The Board of Directors of this Bank has resolved to call the shareholders to the Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting to be held in Santander, at the Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos (Avenida del Racing, s/n), on 17 June 2011, at 10:00 a.m., on second call, in the event that, due to failure to reach the required quorum, such Meeting cannot be held on first call, which is also hereby convened to be held at the same place and time on 16 June 2011, in order for the shareholders to consider and resolve upon items One through Eleven, and also to provide an advisory vote on item Twelve, of the following
AGENDA
One.- Annual accounts and corporate management.
One A. Examination and, if appropriate, approval of the annual accounts (balance sheet, profit and loss statement, statement of recognised income and expense, statement of changes in total equity, cash flow statement and notes) of Banco Santander, S.A. and its consolidated Group with respect to the Financial Year ended 31 December 2010.
One B. Examination and, if appropriate, approval of the corporate management for Financial Year 2010.
Two.- Application of results obtained during Financial Year 2010.
Three.- Board of Directors: appointment, re-election and ratification of directors.
Three A. To re-elect Ms. Ana Patricia Botín-Sanz de Sautuola y O'Shea as director.
Three B. To re-elect Mr. Rodrigo Echenique Gordillo as director
Three C. To re-elect Lord Burns as director.
Three D. To re-elect Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. as director.
Four.- Re-election of the Auditor of Accounts for Financial Year 2011.
Five.- Bylaws: amendment of Articles 8 (capital calls), 11 (co-ownership), 15 (exclusion of pre-emptive rights), 16 (capital reduction), 18 (convertible and exchangeable debentures), 20 (distribution of powers), 24 (call of a general shareholders' meeting), 25 (establishment of the general shareholders' meeting), 26 (right to attend), 28 (place and time of the meeting), 30 (list of attendees), 34 (distance voting), 35 (approval of resolutions), 42 (qualitative composition of the board), 53 (audit and compliance committee), 55 (term of office) 59 (transparency of compensation system), 61 (website), 62 (formulation of annual accounts) and 69 (supervening assets and liabilities).
Five A. Amendment of Articles 8 (capital calls), 11 (co-ownership), 15 (exclusion of pre-emptive rights), 16 (capital reduction) and 18 (convertible and exchangeable debentures).
Five B. Amendment of Articles 20 (distribution of powers), 24 (call of a general shareholders' meeting), 25 (establishment of the general shareholders' meeting), 26 (right to attend), 28 (place and time of the meeting), 30 (list of attendees), 34 (distance voting), 35 (approval of resolutions), 42 (qualitative composition of the board), 53 (audit and compliance committee), 55 (term of office) 59 (transparency of compensation system) and 61 (website).
Five C. Amendment of Articles 62 (formulation of annual accounts) and 69 (supervening assets and liabilities).
Six.- Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting: amendment of Preamble and Articles 2 (general shareholders' meeting), 4 (call to the general shareholders' meeting), 5 (announcement of the call to meeting), 8 (proxies), 12 (holding general shareholders' meeting), 19 (proposals), 21 (voting on proposed resolutions) and Additional Provision (attendance at the Meeting by distance means of communication in real time), as well as the inclusion of a new Article 6 bis (electronic shareholders' forum).
Six A. Amendment of Preamble and Article 2 (General Shareholders' Meeting).
Six B. Amendment of Articles 4 (call to the general shareholders' meeting), 5 (announcement of the call to meeting) and 8 (proxies) and inclusion of a new Article 6 bis (electronic shareholders' forum).
Six C. Amendment of Articles 12 (holding general shareholders' meeting), 19 (proposals), 21 (voting on proposed resolutions) and Additional Provision (attendance at the Meeting by distance means of communication in real time).
Seven.- Delegation to the Board of Directors of the power to carry out the resolution to be adopted by the shareholders at the Meeting to increase the share capital pursuant to the provisions of Section 297.1.a) of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law.
Eight.-
Eight A. Increase of the share capital in such amount as may be determined pursuant to the terms of the resolution by means of the issuance of new ordinary shares having a par value of one-half (0.5) euro each, with no share premium, of the same class and series as those that are currently outstanding, with a charge to voluntary reserves originating from retained earnings. Offer to acquire free allotments at a guaranteed price. Express provision for the possibility of less than full allotment. Delegation of authority to the Board of Directors, with authorisation to delegate in turn to the Executive Committee, to establish the terms and conditions of the increase as to all matters not provided for by the shareholders at this General Shareholders' Meeting, to take such actions as may be required for implementation hereof, to amend the text of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 5 of the Bylaws to reflect the new amount of share capital, and to execute such public and private documents as may be necessary to carry out the increase. Application to the appropriate domestic and foreign authorities for admission to trading of the new shares on the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia Stock Exchanges through Spain's Electronic Trading System (Continuous Market) and on the foreign stock exchanges on which the shares of Banco Santander are listed (Lisbon, London, Milan, Buenos Aires, Mexico and, through ADSs, on the New York Stock Exchange) in the manner required by each of such exchanges.
Eight B. Increase of the share capital in such amount as may be determined pursuant to the terms of the resolution by means of the issuance of new ordinary shares having a par value of one-half (0.5) euro each, with no share premium, of the same class and series as those that are currently outstanding, with a charge to voluntary reserves originating from retained earnings. Offer to acquire free allotments at a guaranteed price. Express provision for the possibility of less than full allotment. Delegation of powers to the Board of Directors, which may in turn delegate such powers to the Executive Committee, to establish the terms and conditions of the increase as to all matters not provided for by the shareholders at this General Shareholders' Meeting, to take such actions as may be required for implementation hereof, to amend the text of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 5 of the Bylaws to reflect the new amount of share capital, and to execute such public and private documents as may be necessary to carry out the increase. Application to the appropriate domestic and foreign authorities for admission to trading of the new shares on the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia Stock Exchanges through Spain's Electronic Trading System (Continuous Market) and on the foreign stock exchanges on which the shares of Banco Santander are listed (Lisbon, London, Milan, Buenos Aires, Mexico and, through ADSs, on the New York Stock Exchange) in the manner required by each of such exchanges.
Nine.-
Nine A. Delegation to the Board of Directors of the power to issue fixed income securities or debt instruments of a similar nature (including warrants) convertible into and/or exchangeable for shares of the Company. Establishment of the criteria for determining the terms and conditions applicable to the conversion and/or exchange and grant to the Board of Directors of the power to increase share capital by the required amount, as well as to exclude the pre-emptive rights of shareholders. Deprive of effect to the extent not used the delegation of powers approved by resolution Eight II) of the shareholders acting at the Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting of 11 June 2010.
Nine B. Delegation to the Board of Directors of the power to issue fixed income securities or debt instruments of a similar nature (including bonds, promissory notes and warrants) that are not convertible into shares.
Ten.- Approval, under items Ten A to Ten C, of new plans or cycles for the delivery of Santander shares for implementation by the Bank and by companies of the Santander Group and linked to changes in total shareholder return or to certain continuity requirements and the progress of the Group, and, under item Ten D, of a plan for employees of Santander UK plc. and other companies of the Group in the United Kingdom:
Ten A. Approval of the sixth cycle of the Performance Shares Plan.
Ten B. Approval of the second cycle of the Deferred and Conditional Share Plan.
Ten C. Approval of the first cycle of the Deferred and Conditional Variable Remuneration Plan.
Ten D. Approval of an incentive plan for employees of Santander UK plc. and other companies of the Group in the United Kingdom by means of options to shares of the Bank linked to the contribution of periodic monetary amounts and to certain continuity requirements.
Eleven.- Authorisation to the Board of Directors to interpret, remedy, supplement, carry out and further develop the resolutions adopted by the shareholders at the Meeting, as well as to delegate the powers received from the shareholders at the Meeting, and grant of powers to convert such resolutions into notarial instruments.
Twelve.- Report on directors remuneration policy.
During the meeting, the Board of Directors will report to the shareholders on the amendment of the Regulations thereof approved since the last General Shareholders' Meeting.
SUPPLEMENT TO THE CALL TO MEETING
Shareholders representing at least five percent of the share capital may request the publication of a supplement to this call, including one or more items in the agenda. This right must be exercised by means of certified notice that must be received at the Company's registered office within five days of the publication of this notice of meeting, with a statement of the name of the shareholders exercising such right and of the number of shares held by them, as well as of the items to be included in the agenda, attaching, if appropriate, any other relevant documentation.
PARTICIPATION OF A NOTARY AT THE MEETING
The Board of Directors has resolved to request the presence of a Notary Public to record the minutes of the Meeting pursuant to Section 203 of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law (Ley de Sociedades de Capital) in connection with Section 101 of the Regulations of the Commercial Registry (Registro Mercantil) and Article 4.2 of the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting.
RIGHT TO ATTEND THE MEETING
Every holder of any number of the Bank's shares registered in the shareholder's name who meets the requirements established in the Bylaws has the right to attend this meeting. Such right to attend may be delegated pursuant to the provisions governing this matter under Section 184 of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law, the Bylaws and the Rules and Regulations for the Shareholders' Meeting.
PROXY-GRANTING, DISTANCE VOTING AND REMOTE ATTENDANCE AT THE MEETING
Shareholders having the right to attend may grant a proxy to exercise their voting rights through remote means of communication and prior to the holding of the Meeting, pursuant to the provisions of Articles 27 and 34 of the Bylaws and Articles 8 and 20 of the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting. The mechanisms for the exercise of voting rights and proxy-granting prior to the Meeting by electronic means will be available on the Bank's website (www.santander.com) beginning on 1 June 2011 and will cease operation at 6:00 p.m. on 15 June 2011.
In addition, as permitted by the provisions of paragraph 6 of Article 34 of the Bylaws and the Additional Provision of the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting, the Board has resolved that attendance at the Meeting is also possible through the use of data transmission means that allow for real-time connection with the premises where the Meeting is held ("remote attendance"). The means to remotely attend the meeting will be available on the Bank's website (www.santander.com) at 8:30 a.m. on 16 June 2011 (first call) and, if applicable, at 8:30 a.m. on the following day, 17 June 2011 (second call); shareholders (or their representatives) wishing to attend remotely, whether on first or second call, must register no later than 9:30 a.m. on the relevant day. For those persons who attend the Meeting remotely, the mechanisms for remote attendance will cease operation at the end of the General Shareholders' Meeting or, if applicable, upon determination that the quorum required to hold the meeting is not present.
In reliance on the aforementioned provisions, the Board of Directors has developed the following rules applicable to proxy-granting and distance voting prior to the Meeting and to remote attendance:
A) PROXY-GRANTING AND DISTANCE VOTING PRIOR TO THE MEETING
1. Proxy-granting by remote means of communication
Means whereby a proxy may be granted
The remote means of communication that are valid to grant such proxy representation are the following:
(i) Electronic means:
In order to grant a proxy by means of electronic communication with the Company, the shareholders of the Bank must do so through the Bank's website (www.santander.com).
The mechanism to grant a proxy by electronic means shall be such as properly guarantees the security and the identity of the person granting the proxy. Therefore, shareholders wishing to use this proxy-granting mechanism must have previously signed one of the following agreements with the Bank, giving them a set of passwords to access the distance voting and proxy-granting software application and, by means thereof, an electronic signature:
(a) Multi-Channel Agreement: individual shareholders who have already entered into a Multi-Channel Agreement with the Bank may rely upon it and use, for purposes of electronic proxy-granting, the passwords and electronic signature already available to them under such agreement.
(b) Agreement for Access to Electronic Voting and Proxy Granting and Remote Attendance: shareholders who have not entered into a Multi-Channel Agreement must execute, for the sole purpose of using the electronic voting and proxy-granting mechanisms, and without any charge by the Bank, an Agreement for Access to Electronic Voting and Proxy-Granting and Remote Access ("Agreement for access to and use of the area for voting and proxy-granting by electronic means and attendance at the Meeting by remote means of communication").
From the date of publication of the announcement of the call to meeting, the information and requirements to sign either of such agreements may be viewed on the Bank's website (www.santander.com). Once a shareholder has signed either of the aforementioned agreements and the shareholder has the corresponding set of passwords and electronic signature, such shareholder may, as from 1 June 2011, through the "General Shareholders' Meeting" section of the Bank's website (www.santander.com), grant a proxy to another person to represent the shareholder at the Meeting.
Shareholders who grant a proxy by electronic means undertake to notify the appointed representative of the proxy granted. Where a proxy is granted to a Director and/or the General Secretary of the Bank or a remote attendee at the Meeting, such notice shall be deemed given upon receipt by the Bank of such electronic proxy.
Electronic proxies must be accepted by the proxy-holder, and may not be used without such acceptance. For such purpose, all electronic proxies granted to persons other than the Directors and/or the General Secretary and/or a remote attendee at the Meeting must be printed, signed and produced, together with an identifying document, by the appointed proxy-holder to the staff in charge of the shareholders' register on the date and at the place of the Meeting, beginning one hour prior to the time established for commencement of the Meeting. In the case of electronic proxies sent through the Bank and granted to persons attending the Meeting from a distance, the Bank's software application will show such remote attendees the proxies received in order for them to accept such proxies, if they are willing to do so. The person to whom voting powers are delegated may only exercise such powers by attending the Meeting in person (physically or from a distance).
(ii) Hand delivery or postal correspondence
In order to grant a proxy by hand delivery or postal correspondence, shareholders must complete and sign the "Proxy" section of the printed attendance, proxy and voting card issued by the Bank. Such proxies must be accepted by the proxy-holder, without which acceptance they may not be used. For such purpose, the proxy-holder may sign in the appropriate space on the attendance and proxy card itself. The person to whom voting powers are delegated may only exercise such powers by attending the Meeting in person, for which purpose, if he/she physically attends the Meeting, he/she must produce an identifying document when entering the premises where the Meeting is held. In the case of proxies granted by hand-delivery or postal correspondence to persons who attend the Meeting remotely, and provided that such proxies have been sent through the Bank, the Bank's software application will show such remote attendees the proxies received in order for them to accept said proxies, if they are willing to do so.
The duly completed and signed card must be delivered at any Office of the Bank or sent by postal correspondence to Registro de Accionistas, Apartado número 683 F.D. 28080 Madrid.
In addition, as is customary and pursuant to the provisions of the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting, the duly completed and signed proxy card may also be submitted, together with an identifying document, by the appointed proxy-holder who physically attends the Meeting to the staff in charge of the shareholders' register on the date and at the place where the General Shareholders' Meeting is to be held, beginning one hour prior to the time established for commencement thereof.
2. Voting prior to the Meeting by remote means of communication
Means for casting a vote from a distance
The remote means of communication which are valid for purposes of casting a vote from a distance are the following:
(i) Electronic means:
In order to cast their vote from a distance by means of electronic communication with the Company, the shareholders of the Bank must do so through the Bank's website (www.santander.com).
The mechanism to cast votes from a distance by electronic means shall be such as properly guarantees security and the identity of the person casting the vote. To such end, shareholders who wish to use this voting mechanism must have previously signed one of the agreements specified in section 1 (i) above.
Once a shareholder has executed either of the aforementioned agreements and the shareholder has the corresponding set of passwords and electronic signature, such shareholder may, as from 1 June 2011, through the "General Shareholders' Meeting" section of the Bank's website (www.santander.com), cast the shareholder's vote from a distance with respect to the items on the agenda for the General Shareholder's Meeting.
(ii) Hand-delivery or postal correspondence:
In order to cast a vote from a distance by hand-delivery or postal correspondence, shareholders must complete and sign the "Distance Voting" section of the printed attendance, proxy and voting card issued by the Bank. The duly completed and signed card must be delivered to any Office of the Bank or sent by postal correspondence to Registro de Accionistas, Apartado número 683 F.D. 28080 Madrid.
3. Basic rules on voting and proxy-granting prior to the Meeting and attendance in person (physically or from a distance)
3.1 Deadline for receipt by the Company of proxies granted and votes cast from a distance prior to the Meeting.
3.1.1 Proxies and distance votes sent by hand-delivery or postal correspondence
In order to be valid, and pursuant to the provisions of the Bylaws, both proxies granted from a distance and votes cast from a distance sent by hand-delivery or postal correspondence must be received by the Company before midnight of the third day prior to the date on which the Meeting is to be held on first call, i.e., prior to midnight on 13 June 2011.
As provided in the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting, after the expiration of the above-mentioned deadline, there shall only be admitted such proxies as are granted in writing and submitted by the proxy-holder who physically attends the Meeting to the staff in charge of the shareholders' register, on the date and at the place where the Meeting is to be held, and beginning one hour prior to the time established for commencement thereof.
3.1.2 Proxies and distance votes sent by electronic means
Pursuant to the provisions of the Bylaws and of the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting, on the occasion of this General Shareholders' Meeting, the Board of Directors has resolved to reduce the minimum advance period established to receive proxies and votes from a distance sent by electronic means, the deadline now being set at 6:00 p.m. on the day prior to the date on which the Meeting is to be held on first call. Therefore, in order to be valid, both proxies granted from a distance and votes cast from a distance through electronic means must be received by the Company prior to 6:00 p.m. on the day prior to the date on which the Meeting is to be held on first call, i.e., prior to 6:00 p.m. on 15 June 2011.
As provided in the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting, after the expiration of the above-mentioned deadline, there shall only be admitted such proxies as have been granted in writing and submitted by the appointed proxy-holder who physically attends the Meeting to the staff in charge of the shareholders' register, on the date and at the place of the Meeting and beginning one hour prior to the time established for commencement thereof.
3.2 Rules of priority among proxies, distance voting and attendance in person (physically or from a distance)
3.2.1 Priorities among proxies, distance voting and attendance in person
(i) Attendance at the Meeting in person (whether physically or from a distance) by a shareholder who has previously granted a proxy or voted from a distance, irrespective of the means used to cast such vote, shall render said proxy or vote ineffective. Personal physical attendance will invalidate remote personal attendance.
(ii) Likewise, the vote, irrespective of the means used to cast it, shall render ineffective any electronic or written proxy, whether granted previously, in which case it shall be deemed revoked, or subsequently, in which case it shall be deemed not to have been granted.
3.2.2 Priorities based upon the means used to grant the proxy or cast the vote
(i) In the event that a shareholder validly grants a proxy, electronically, on the one hand, and by means of a printed card, on the other, the latter shall prevail over the former, regardless of the respective dates thereof.
(ii) Likewise, a vote validly cast under a handwritten signature on the printed card shall render void the vote cast electronically, whether previously or subsequently.
3.3 Modification of the vote cast from a distance
Once cast, a distance vote may not be modified, except in the event of attendance at the Meeting in person (whether physically or from a distance) by the shareholder who cast such vote or, in the case of electronic voting, also by a subsequent vote cast within the established deadline, by means of the attendance, proxy and voting card (hand-delivery or postal correspondence).
3.4 Other matters
In the event that electronic means are used, only one electronic session shall be allowed for each type of operation (advance proxy-granting and voting, and remote attendance).
Both the proxy granted and the vote cast from a distance shall be rendered ineffective by the disposition of shares of which the Company is aware.
Either or any of the joint holders of deposited shares may vote, grant a proxy or attend the Meeting, and the rules of priority set forth in sub-section 3.2 hereof shall apply. For purposes of the provisions of Section 126 of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law, it is presumed that the joint holder who carries out an act (proxy-granting, voting, or attending physically or from a distance) at any time has been appointed by the other joint holders to exercise the rights accruing to a shareholder.
Shareholders that are legal entities or do not reside in Spain must call the Shareholders' Line in order to adapt, with proper safeguards, the distance voting and proxy-granting mechanisms to their particular situation.
Shareholders shall be solely responsible for safeguarding the passwords for accessing and using the electronic proxy-granting and voting service. If the shareholder is a legal entity, it shall give notice of any modification or revocation of the powers vested in its representative, and the Bank therefore disclaims any and all liability until such notice is given.
4. Technical incidents
The Bank reserves the right to modify, suspend, cancel or restrict the mechanisms for electronic voting and proxy-granting prior to the General Shareholders' Meeting, when so required for technical or security reasons.
The Bank shall not be liable for any damage that shareholders may sustain as a result of failures, overloads, downtime, failed connections or any other events of the same or a similar nature, which are beyond the Bank's control and prevent the use of the mechanisms for electronic voting and proxy-granting prior to the Meeting.
B) REMOTE ATTENDANCE AT THE MEETING
In order to ensure the identity of the attendees, the proper exercise of their rights, real-time interactivity, and the proper progress of the Meeting, shareholders (or their representatives) who wish to use the remote attendance mechanisms must have previously entered into one of the following agreements with the Bank, whereby a set of passwords is made available to them in order to access the remote attendance software application and, by means thereof, an electronic signature:
(a) Multi-Channel Agreement: natural persons who have already entered into a Multi- Channel Agreement with the Bank may rely on it and use, for purposes of remote attendance, the passwords and electronic signature already available to them under such agreement.
(b) Agreement for Access to Electronic Voting and Proxy-Granting and Remote Attendance at the Meeting: individuals or legal entities who have not entered into a Multi-Channel Agreement must execute, for the sole purpose of remote attendance at the Meeting and of casting a vote thereat and without any charge by the Bank, an Agreement for Access to Electronic Voting and Proxy-Granting and Remote Attendance at the Meeting ("Agreement for access to and use of the area for voting and proxy-granting by electronic means and attendance at the Meeting by remote means of communication").
From the date of publication of the announcement of the call to meeting, the information and requirements to execute either of these agreements may be viewed on the Bank's website (www.santander.com). Once a shareholder (or his/her representative) has executed either of the aforementioned agreements and has its corresponding set of passwords and electronic signature, such shareholder may, through the "General Shareholders' Meeting" section on the Bank's website (www.santander.com), attend and vote at the Meeting by remote means of communication in real time.
Remote attendance at the Meeting shall be subject to the following basic rules, and all matters not expressly contemplated herein shall be governed by the provisions posted on the Bank's website and those set forth in Law, the Bylaws and the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting:
(i) Logging-on, registration and attendance: Pursuant to the provisions of the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting, and in order to permit the appropriate management of remote attendance systems, shareholders (or their representatives) who wish to attend the Meeting and vote by remote means of communication shall register by logging on between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on the date of the Meeting. No attendee registration shall be admitted outside of this time period.
In the event that the Meeting is held on second call, attendees who have registered for the Meeting on first call will be required to carry out the registration process again in order to be able to attend.
If persons attending from a distance have been granted proxies, and provided that such proxies have been received by the Company within the deadlines for admission thereof, the software application will show them such proxies so that they accept them, if they are willing to do so.
Attendees who wish to state before the Notary that they expressly leave the Meeting must do so by using the form included for such purpose in the remote attendance software application. Once they have notified the Notary of their express intention of leaving the meeting, all actions taken by such shareholders thereafter shall be deemed not taken. In any event, by means of a connection to the software application, the Notary will be aware of the actions taken by the persons who attend the Meeting from a distance, including the votes that may be cast by them.
(ii) Participation: Shareholders (or their representatives) who, in the exercise of their rights, intend to participate in the Meeting and, where applicable, request information or clarifications in connection with the items on the agenda or make proposals shall express their intent to do so at the time of registration. Following such expression of intent, and exclusively by means of the participation form prepared for such purpose, persons attending remotely may state in writing and send the contents of their participation or their question or proposal from the time the Chairman declares a valid quorum to have been established for the Meeting until the participation period ends. Persons attending from a distance who wish their participation to be recorded in the minutes of the Meeting must expressly state such desire in the text in which the contents of their participation are set forth.
As the participation of each person attending from a distance is received, such participation will be accessible to the attendees who are physically present at the place of the Meeting. In turn, remote attendees shall be able to access each such participation by logging onto the website indicated in the software application.
In any event, requests for information or clarification made by remote attendees will be answered in writing within seven days of the Meeting, pursuant to the provisions of Section 182 of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law.
(iii) Voting: Votes on the proposals relating to the items on the agenda may be cast as from the moment when the Chairman declares the Meeting to be validly convened and provided always that the attendee has registered by following the procedure described in subsection (i) above; in the event of alternative proposals, the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 21.1 of the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting shall apply. As regards proposed resolutions on matters that, as prescribed by law, need not be specified on the agenda, remote attendees may cast their vote as from the moment when the Secretary for the General Shareholders' Meeting reads out such proposals for a vote to be taken thereon. In all events, the remote voting process with respect to all the proposals submitted to the shareholders acting at the General Shareholders' Meeting will come to an end when, following the reading of the summaries of the proposed resolutions by the Secretary for the Meeting, the vote commences on the proposed resolutions at the premises where the Meeting is held.
The vote on the proposed resolutions shall be governed by the procedure contemplated in the Bylaws and in the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting.
(iv) Other matters: Legal entities and those persons that do not reside in Spain must call the Shareholders' Line in order to adapt, with proper safeguards, the mechanisms for attending the Meeting by remote means of communication in real time.
In the event that more than one of the joint holders of deposited securities are in attendance, the joint holder who is the first to register (physically or from a distance) shall be deemed an attendee, and therefore, any subsequent access by the other joint holders shall be denied. In connection with the foregoing, and for purposes of the provisions of Section 126 of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law, the joint holder who registers first (physically or from a distance) shall be deemed to have been appointed by the other joint holders to exercise the rights accruing to a shareholder.
Shareholders (or their representatives) shall be solely responsible for safeguarding the passwords for accessing and using the remote attendance service. If the shareholder is a legal entity, it shall give notice of any modification or revocation of the powers vested in its representative, and the Bank therefore disclaims any and all liability until such notice is given.
The Bank reserves the right to modify, suspend, cancel or restrict the mechanisms for remote attendance at the General Shareholders' Meeting when so required for technical or security reasons. The Bank shall not be liable for any damage that shareholders may sustain as a result of failures, overloads, downtime, failed connections or any other events of the same or a similar nature, which are beyond the Bank's control and prevent the use of the mechanisms for remote attendance at the Meeting.
For further information on proxy-granting and distance voting and remote attendance at the Meeting, shareholders may write to the e-mail address junta.accionistas@santander.com, call the Shareholders' Line 902 11 17 11 or go to the Office of the Shareholder, Ciudad Grupo Santander, Avda. Cantabria, s/n, 28660 - Boadilla del Monte (Madrid). Further information is also available on the Company's website (www.santander.com).
RIGHT TO RECEIVE INFORMATION
In addition to the provisions of Section 197 of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law, starting on the date of the publication of the announcement of the call to meeting, shareholders may obtain from the Company, immediately and free of charge, the annual accounts, the management report and the auditors' report for Financial Year 2010, as well as the consolidated accounts, the Group's management report and the auditors' report for such Financial Year.
In connection with items Five A, Five B and Five C, Seven, Eight A, Eight B and Nine A on the agenda, starting on the date of publication of the notice of the Meeting, shareholders may examine at the registered office of the Company the full text of the proposed resolutions and the mandatory reports prepared by the directors, as well as request that such documents be delivered or sent to them free of charge.
With respect to the provisions of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law and the Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting, from the publication of the call to the General Shareholders' Meeting and until the seventh day, inclusive, prior to the holding thereof on first call, the shareholders may issue written requests for information or clarifications, or ask written questions that they consider relevant about the items on the agenda of the Meeting. In addition, in the same form and within the same period, the shareholders may issue written requests for information or clarifications, or ask written questions, concerning the information accessible to the public that the Company has provided to the National Securities Exchange Commission (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores) since the last General Shareholders' Meeting was held.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting, such requests as are admissible in the exercise of the shareholders' right to receive information may be made by e-mail to junta.accionistas@santander. com, in which case, in order to provide the system with adequate guarantees of authenticity and of identity of the shareholder exercising the right to receive information, such shareholder shall set forth in such e-mail his/her first name and surname (or corporate name), Tax Identification Number, and the number of shares held by such shareholder. As provided in Section 528 of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law, and unless otherwise indicated by the shareholder, the requests for information received at the aforementioned e-mail address may be dealt with by the Bank by means of an answer sent to the e-mail address of the shareholder-sender. The request may also be made by delivering or mailing the written petition, bearing the handwritten signature of the requesting party, to the registered office of the Company.
DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE
Apart from the above-mentioned right to receive information, the following documents, amongst others, shall be available for viewing on the Company's website (www.santander.com), as from the date of publication of the announcement of the call to meeting:
(i) This notice of the Meeting.
(ii) The annual accounts, the management report and the auditors' report for Financial Year 2010, as well as the consolidated accounts, the Group's management report and the auditors' report for such Financial Year.
(iii) The full text of the proposed resolutions regarding all of the items on the agenda for the General Shareholders' Meeting, as well as, in connection with Items Five A, Five B and Five C, Six A, Six B and Six C, Seven, Eight A, Eight B, Nine A, Ten A, Ten B and Ten C, the corresponding reports prepared by the directors.
(iv) The résumés of the directors referred to in item Three of the agenda.
(v) The rules applicable to proxy-granting and voting by remote means of communication and to remote attendance at the Meeting.
(vi) The rules of operation of the Electronic Shareholders' Forum.
(vii) The Annual Corporate Governance Report.
(viii) The Group's Annual Report.
(ix) The current Bylaws, along with the resulting text of such Bylaws if the amendments proposed at the Meeting are approved.
(x) The current Rules and Regulations for the General Shareholders' Meeting, along with the resulting text of such Rules and Regulations if the amendments proposed at the Meeting are approved.
(xi) The current Rules and Regulations of the Board of Directors.
(xii) The Report of the Audit and Compliance Committee.
(xiii) The Report of the Appointments and Remuneration Committee (available on the Bank's website since 9 May 2011), including the report on director remuneration policy.
SPECIAL INFORMATION TOOLS
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 528.2 of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law, the Bank has enabled on its website (www.santander.com) an Electronic Shareholders' Forum (hereinafter, the "Forum"), which may be accessed by individual shareholders as well as voluntary associations of shareholders that may be created pursuant to the provisions of Section 528.4 of the Spanish Capital Corporations Law.
There may be published in the Forum proposals intended to be submitted as a supplement to the agenda announced in the call to meeting, requests for adherence to such proposals, initiatives to reach the percentage required to exercise a minority right as contemplated by Law, and voluntary proxy offers or solicitations.
The Forum does not constitute a device for electronic conversation among the shareholders or a meeting point for virtual debate. Nor may the Forum be a channel of communication between the Company and its shareholders. The Forum is made available in order to facilitate communication among the Bank's shareholders on occasion of the call to and until the holding of the General Shareholders' Meeting.
To access the Forum, shareholders must have previously signed one of the following agreements with the Bank, which will allow them to have a set of access codes for the Forum, and an electronic signature by means thereof:
(a) Multichannel Agreement: shareholders who are individuals and who have already signed a Multichannel Agreement with the Bank may make use thereof, using the codes and electronic signature already available to them by virtue of such agreement.
(b) Agreement for Access to Electronic Voting and Proxy Granting and Remote Attendance: shareholders who have not entered into a Multichannel Agreement must sign an Agreement for Access to Electronic Voting and Proxy-Granting and Remote Attendance ("Agreement for access to and use of the area for voting and proxy-granting by electronic means and attendance at the Meeting through remote means of communication") for the sole purpose of accessing and using the Forum and using the electronic voting and proxy mechanisms without charge by the Bank.
Legal entities that are not resident in Spain must call the Shareholders' Line to adapt with the appropriate guarantees to the mechanisms for participating in the Electronic Shareholders' Forum. The information and requirements for executing either of these documents can be viewed on the Bank's website (www.santander.com) from the date of publication of the notice of the call to meeting. Access to the Forum and the terms and conditions for the use and operation thereof shall be governed by the provisions of this notice of call to meeting and the rule of operation of the Electronic Shareholders' Forum, the text of which can be viewed on such website of the Bank.
DATA PROTECTION
The personal data that the shareholders send to the Company in exercising their attendance, proxy and voting rights at the General Shareholders' Meeting or that are provided by the banks or brokerage firms or companies with whom shareholders have deposited their shares, through the entity legally entrusted with the book-entry registries, Sociedad de Gestión de los Sistemas de Registro, Compensación y Liquidación de Valores, S.A. (IBERCLEAR), will be processed (and included in a file for which the Company is responsible) in order to manage the development, compliance and control of the shareholder list as regards the call to and holding of the General Shareholders' Meeting. The shareholders may exercise their rights of access, correction, cancellation and challenge, in accordance with the provisions of Organic Law 15/1999, of 13 December, concerning the Protection of Personal Data, by giving written notice addressed to the registered office of the Company at Paseo de Pereda, números 9 al 12, Secretaría General, 39004 - Santander.
Santander, 9 May 2011
The General Secretary,
Ignacio Benjumea
This information is provided by RNS
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