• Annual Report | Responsible Banking 2021
Letter from the Executive President

and Chief Executive Officer of Santander Mexico

In 2021, Santander continued positioning itself as a solid institution and, alongside its customers and as part of its unwavering commitment to Mexico, as a Responsible Bank. Without a shadow of a doubt, it has been thanks to our strategies and the extraordinary hard work of our employees that we have been able to adapt to the major challenges societies around the world have been facing, in addition to understanding and meeting the needs of our customers and accelerating our transformation to offer them more and better innovative products and services, in keeping with our mission of driving the progress of people and companies. We do all of this while promoting financial inclusion and education in Mexico, supporting young people and entrepreneurs throughout our country, and raising awareness and accompanying our customers on their transition to a greener economy.

Héctor Grisi Checa
Executive President and CEO of Santander Mexico



Santander has positioned itself in Mexico as a benchmark in sustainability and in Environment, Social and Governance criteria (ESG). In 2021, we held our first Sustainable Santander Summit as part of our Responsible Banking agenda. We are positioned as one of the leading promoters in financing for green vehicles and renewable energy projects in Mexico, and we also launched our global ESG equity fund, in addition to constantly expanding our retail offer to encompass more sustainable products, among other actions.

A clear example of these efforts is the launch of our LikeU credit cards, the first of their kind in Mexico to be “born” digitally and offer 100% personalization based on the needs of each customer. They also incorporate an unparalleled element of social responsibility that allows each of our customers support a social or environmental cause they identify with.

Fully aware that, now more than ever before, we must take measures to protect and preserve the environment. In 2021 the Bank announced, among other actions, its adherence to the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and its goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, not only in terms of its activities (since 2020 we offset our carbon emissions (scope 1 and 2) through the purchase of CER and iREC), but also with regard to the emissions of its customers stemming from any financing, consultancy services or investments provided by Santander.

Financial empowerment is another of our commitments in our role as a Responsible Bank. Through Tuiio, our financial inclusion program to help bring people who have not traditionally had access to financial services closer to them, we have benefitted approximately 260,000 people by 2021 year-end, more than 90% of whom are women trying to make their projects a reality and thereby improve their lives and those of their families. With this in mind, we are extremely proud for Tuiio to have been included as a good practice for ending poverty in our country by Global Compact Mexico in 2021, as part of its study into the fulfillment of the United Nations Sustainable Goals.

However, our support for communities goes far beyond our day-to-day operations. In 2021, through a number of investment programs, we earmarked around MXN $125 million to benefit 55,000 people throughout the country.

Furthermore, over the past 27 years – and thanks to the genuine commitment and collaboration of our employees – we have benefited 823 organizations and more than 368,000 girls and boys through Fideicomiso Por los Niños de México, Todos en Santander, a program that supports Civil Society Organizations focusing on the areas of child nutrition, health and education.

Our Bank continues to be the institution that most supports higher education in Mexico and around the world through Santander Universities, which this year celebrated its 25th anniversary. In 2021, we granted an unprecedented figure of more than 47,000 scholarships for entrepreneurs and students from throughout Mexico, thanks to our portfolio of digital scholarships and the evolution of our online training programs provided in conjunction with world-renowned partners.

Lastly, we are convinced that our differences enrich who we are, which is why our Diversity and Inclusion Committee continued promoting programs to help make Santander a more inclusive institution for our customers and employees, who are the embodiment of the diverse society we serve. This is why, among a host of other programs, in 2021 we launched Santander Women Leaders, an initiative that offers our female employees access to opportunities to grow professionally and develop their leadership skills.

I am proud to say that, thanks to the steps we have taken in terms of Responsible Banking, in 2021 Santander Mexico was included for the second time in the Dow Jones Sustainability MILA Pacific Alliance Index. We were also once again recognized by International Finance Magazine as the Best Bank for Financial Inclusion in Mexico, and we were included on the S&P/BMV Total Mexico ESG Index. For the seventeenth consecutive year, we received the Socially Responsible Company certification.

All of these achievements would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of each and every person at this institution. I would like to express my gratitude to them all as it is thanks to them that we have been able to tackle new challenges and convert them into opportunities. In 2022, we will continue rolling out new measures to help drive the progress of companies and people, and we will continue striving to achieve our Responsible Banking goals to help make Santander, and Mexico as a whole, a greener and more inclusive and sustainable place to live.

Héctor Grisi Checa
Executive President and CEO of Santander Mexico