Statemnt re New Share Indexes

Banco Santander Central Hispano SA
10 July 2002


                    THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE 
               INCLUDES SANTANDER CENTRAL HISPANO 
                    IN TWO NEW SHARE INDEXES

Madrid, July 10th 2002. The New York Stock Exchange has included Santander
Central Hispano among the companies comprising its two recently-launched share
indexes:  NYSE International 100 Index and NYSE World Leaders Index.

The NYSE International 100 Index includes the 100 most important non-US resident
companies in the world listed on the NYSE. The Santander Central Hispano shares
have a 1.331% weighting on this index.

The NYSE World Leaders Index represents the 200 largest companies in the world
listed on the NYSE (100 U.S. companies forming part of the NYSE 100 Index and
100 non-US companies included on the NYSE International 100 Index). The Bank's
weighting on this index is 0.47%.

The inclusion of a company's shares on the leading world indexes means a new
demand for securities by funds or portfolios which have chosen the index in
question as a performance benchmark.

In addition to forming part of the most important international market indexes
such as the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50, the FTSE Eurotop 100 or the Morgan Stanley
Capital International Pan Euro Index and Euro Index, Santander Central Hispano's
shares are included on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, one of the leading
indexes for sustainable performance. The Bank aims to gradually join the
principal indexes of this type, which comprise companies committed to good
Corporate Governance and the implementation of social action policies. 
 

                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange