Main description: In 2004, Spain's Banco Santander purchased Britain's Abbey National Bank in a deal valued at fifteen billion dollars--an acquisition that made Santander one of the ten largest financial institutions in the world. Here, Mauro Guillén and Adrian Tschoegl tackle the question of...

Family-led banks in the global economy -- A family bank's origins -- The industrial group -- Survival of the biggest? -- The new world -- Alliances, and their limits -- Back to Europe -- Managerial style, governance, succession -- The future of a global group