Santander helped some 10 million people get better training and opportunities in 2025

The bank allocated 163.8 million euros to community support programmes on education and training, employability, entrepreneurship, and social action.

Santander employees donated almost 60,000 hours to volunteering initiatives that helped vulnerable people and delivered financial education. 

Madrid, 28 April 2026.
In 2025, Banco Santander helped 9.9 million people and businesses the world over through financial and other education, employability, entrepreneurship, and social action. That’s 9% more people and businesses than the previous year and involved an allocation of 163.8 million euros.

Santander’s community support programmes are a key part of its sustainability agenda to drive financial and social prosperity amid labour market transformation, digital acceleration, the need to reskill*, and an increase in economic hardship, especially in Europe.

More training and digital skills

Of the almost 10 million people helped, over 4.6 million took part in education, upskilling and entrepreneurship programmes. Impact doubled in comparison with 2024 due to the greater reach of training content and digital services.

In recent years, the bank has stepped up its lifelong learning efforts in response to structural changes in the labour market and rising demand for digital and technology-based skills. Its free global learning and development platform, Santander Open Academy (for customers and non-customers alike), is of particular note. In 2025, it helped over 2.8 million people and led to the bank appearing for the third year running in Fortune magazine’s “Change the World” list as a company that has a positive social impact.

In the past 30 years, Santander has allocated over 2.5 billion euros to promote education, employability and entrepreneurship. This commitment, in partnership with over 1,000 universities and entities in 13 countries, has enabled the bank to support millions of people, businesses, and academic institutions. “Education, employability and entrepreneurship are the cornerstone of sustainable growth. That’s why we’ve been at the forefront of promoting education for the past three decades”, said Banco Santander Executive Chair, Ana Botín, recently.

Financial education and social support

Another 5.2 million people took part in financial education programmes and initiatives that address other social needs; for instance, to enhance economic self-sufficiency, reduce the risk of social exclusion, support people affected by humanitarian emergencies, and other action.

Financial education is another strategic pillar of the bank’s sustainability agenda and has become a global priority. According to Santander’s “The Currency of Learning: Global Perspectives on Financial education” report, 81% of the people surveyed in 10 countries had never received education of this type at school, but the vast majority (84%) would have liked to. It’s something that people consider more important than traditional subjects like history and science; in fact, it’s the second most important for people's prosperity.

“Promoting financial education is a permanent responsibility for Santander. As a bank, we help millions of people and businesses make decisions every day. For that reason, we take our commitment beyond offering products and services to providing the tools that help people understand them”, explained Ana Botín at the report’s launch in London.

In 2025 alone, 3.4 million people benefitted from initiatives and training content on saving, responsible consumption, digital banking, cybersecurity, and fraud prevention.

60,000 volunteering hours

Employee volunteering is a vital element of the bank’s social impact. In 2025, Santander employees in the markets where it operates donated 59,800 hours to social, financial inclusion, financial education and environmental support initiatives, as well as others to meet local needs.

Santander's support to communities in 2025 reaffirmed how the bank is helping people and businesses prosper and driving sustainable development and equal opportunity, a commitment that it continues to deliver on in 2026.