To listen to the full conversation, scan the QR code or visit https://bankingwithinterest.libsyn.com/ santander-us-ceo-wennes-on-regionalbanks-capital-regs-and-reaching-gen-z. What are the main challenges with commercial real estate? I think it’s important to break down commercial real estate into segments and not think about it all as one bucket. There’s multi-family, industrial, retail, office and so on. Segments like multifamily and industrial are really strong. The main challenges are around office, given the rapid rise in interest rates and post-pandemic work environment. Many companies are going to need less space over time. Why did Santander Bank recently exit the mortgage business? We want to focus on businesses where we have scale and are globally connected with Santander Group, our parent company. Mortgage didn’t fit that, and heading into a cycle of rate increases, we knew the business would get more competitive. When we started thinking about investments, we couldn’t see earnings above the cost of capital and decided it was better to exit. We can still provide mortgages to our customers, but we do it through a partner instead of owning the process ourselves. That’s the Fintexpert® Way. What’s a Fintexpert? Tech you need. Agility you want. Service you deserve. LEARN MORE AT CSIWEB.COM/FINTEXPERT Visit us at the ICBC Golden Julibee Annual Convention INDEPENDENT REPORT | 15
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