Key team members:

Bruno Jesus, General Counsel

Inês Caria, Head of Legal

André Barangé, Team Leader

Leonor Azevedo Soares, Team Leader

Luís Carreira, Team Leader

Mariana Bettencourt, Team Leader

Team size: 23

Jurisdictions your role covers: Portugal.

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The legal department of Santander Portugal was recently involved in the structuring and participation in financing operations within the scope of Public Acquisition Offers that were relevant in the European landscape, standing out due to their complexity and scale, as each individually represented volumes in the hundreds of millions of euros. Another noteworthy operation that counted on the essential support of Santander Portugal’s legal department — and had a significant impact due to its volume — was the participation in the sale of credit rights related to the energy supply tariff deficit. This sale operation amounted to several hundred million euros, with Santander Portugal participating in the transaction with approximately 150 million euros.

What factors influence your team’s decision to use external legal services versus handling matters in-house, and what criteria are used to evaluate their performance?

Legal support for Santander Portugal’s activities is primarily provided by the internal team of legal advisers and lawyers, as we believe that constant availability, knowledge of the organisation, and familiarity with the specific characteristics of each area allow for more appropriate and business-oriented legal assistance. The use of external legal services is therefore subsidiary and arises in situations where, due to the complexity, demands, specialisation, or multidisciplinary nature of the matter, it would disrupt the internal teams’ ability to respond. These services are also used in cases involving operations subject to foreign law, in which case support from external firms based in those jurisdictions is required.

Only in the case of the litigation team is the use of external firms and lawyers consistent and ongoing. This approach enables a more efficient and appropriate management of the team, avoiding the need for new hires whenever the volume of cases increases, while also promoting cost control and predictability. Notwithstanding this outsourcing, external firms are managed by an in-house lawyer, who seeks to share the Bank’s legal knowledge and carefully considered positions with the firms, ensuring consistency in legal representation across different offices.

In this context, the legal department applies both objective and subjective criteria in the evaluation of external firms and lawyers, namely in relation to their success rate in entrusted cases, the overall quality of service provided, and their ability to respond to urgent matters and requests from Santander Portugal.

What are some of the biggest legal or regulatory challenges currently facing your industry, and how is your team preparing to address them?

The main challenges currently faced by the legal department of Santander Portugal in terms of legislation and regulation are related to: (i) the new European corporate sustainability reporting rules, associated with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD); (ii) the reform of the capital requirements regulatory framework, specifically the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR); (iii) the new European Union legislative package to combat money laundering and terrorist financing; (iv) the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA); (v) legislation concerning accessibility requirements for products and services; and (vi) the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI ACT).

The legal department has participated in several internal and external forums for the study and discussion of these matters, in a context of legal and regulatory analysis and interpretation, as well as assessment of the impact of their implementation by the Bank. When necessary, team members may undergo training on these topics or rely on the support of external law firms.

In what ways does your legal team promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, both within the department and in your external legal partnerships?

Santander Portugal promotes a culture of inclusion, diversity, and equity, notably through its policies, awareness initiatives in partnership with external entities, training for its employees, volunteering activities, and the support of the Santander Foundation, which aims to foster a more developed, fair, inclusive, and sustainable society.

In particular, the legal department promotes equal opportunities in the workplace and in career development. In this context, it is worth highlighting the inclusion of two lawyers with special needs in the team. To make this possible, adaptations were made to the workplace and all necessary support was provided, with the goal of ensuring equal access and working conditions, particularly regarding career progression and development opportunities.