The April 23, 2012, edition of the Wall Street Journal Online contains an article by
Christopher Bjork entitled “Santander Prepares Record Mexico IPO.”
Read the article and answer the following questions.
(a) Why is the Spanish lender Santander issuing shares of its Mexican banking subsidiary to the public?
(b) The article suggests that Santander has previously issued shares of subsidiaries in other countries as well. Why does the bank like to do these so-called “local listings”?
(c) In what other countries has Santander done local listings? Why do regulators in those countries like the local listings?
(d) What advantage has Santander had over some of its European rivals in raising funds?