Bloomberg
Santander's Patagon Internet Bank Makes First Annual Profit
By Todd White

Madrid, Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Santander Central Hispano SA's Patagon
Internet Bank earned its first full-year profit, by reducing costs and
increasing customers to become one of the few online banks in Europe
to make money.

The online lender and brokerage owned by Spain's largest bank said it
earned 446,000 euros ($471,000) in pretax profit, compared with a 16.2
million-euro loss in 2001. The bank didn't release net income in its
note to the media.

Spain's biggest Internet bank paid as much as 7 percent annual
interest for certain deposits to match rival ING Direct, and it
broadened the products offered. Patagon cut costs and received new
investment from its parent, Santander.

Clients increased by 27 percent and deposits climbed 22 percent. The
bank ended the year with 3.2 billion euros managed.

Patagon made its first monthly profit in August and had predicted a
full-year profit.

Patagon was previously known as Open Bank. It was renamed after
Santander bought an Argentine online bank called Patagon in 2000. Last
year Santander sold the Latin American businesses of Patagon and wrote
off a 700 million euro investment.


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Michal 'Amra' Macierzynski
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