Quotes from Ana Patricia Botin

I want the best people, not just on the banking side but on innovation and technology.

We can support innovators and entrepreneurs.

We didn't invent gunpowder. What we did was take things that were there and put them together in a way that works.

We can help families buy their homes and invest in their educations.

We need the banks to be attractive to investors again.

I didn't join a bank because my father worked in a bank or because I thought I was going to be a banker or because I thought I was going to be where I am today.

I wanted to be a journalist. I used to write articles at university about politics.

I am confident that our experience, our scale, our intimate knowledge of the needs of our customers put us on the front line of economic and social progress.

We are going to make people who do some things with Santander into loyal customers who bank with us every day. This is what will allow us to compete in a world where banking customers have more and more choice. If we don't do this, then we won't grow in the next decade.

We are a challenger bank; let me say that once, twice, and three times if necessary because people still sometimes think of us as being very big.

I wanted to be a journalist. The other thing I wanted to be was a spy.

We need critical mass. We need people, not just one or two. We need a lot of them.

I think of digital as a means to an end: How do I service and get more loyal customers, how do I achieve operational excellence, and how do I change my culture?