Repositioning Eurozone’s largest bank in the Nordics

Santander is the Eurozone’s largest bank and one of the world’s leading financial institutions. Together with Santander’s Nordic executive leadership, KIND redefined the bank’s Nordic position—aligning its identity, communication and behaviour around a more responsible and meaningful role

Founded in Spain in 1857, Santander has grown into one of the most established brands in global banking. In the Nordics, it had built a strong position as a market leader in automotive and point of sale finance, becoming a familiar name in everyday consumer transactions. To protect and strengthen that position while preparing the business for its next chapter, Santander appointed KIND as its strategic branding partner.

The partnership began behind the scenes almost a year before it was publicly announced. Working closely with Nordic executive leadership, KIND conducted an extensive insight process to understand the business, the market, the competitive landscape and, most importantly, the role Santander could credibly own in the minds of Nordic consumers.

Unlike Spain and other core markets, Santander’s Nordic business operated within a more specialised and fragmented financial landscape. Its global banking position could not simply be transferred to the region. The challenge was to translate the strength and heritage of a global financial institution into something that felt locally relevant and distinctive.

Santander needed a distinct Nordic position that could connect its global heritage with the realities of the local market, feel relevant to customers and remain true to the brand’s origins. At the same time, it needed to provide a clear direction for the organisation itself, creating a shared platform that guides how the brand would show up in the years ahead.

From financial value to human value

The opportunity was to give Santander a more responsible and meaningful role in people’s everyday lives.

Everyday Value became the foundation of the repositioning. It expanded value beyond the purely financial: caring for each other, making responsible choices, enabling more considered consumption, and turning good intentions into meaningful action. This was not a departure from Santander’s heritage, but a contemporary Nordic expression of it – a bank built on relationships, responsibility and a long-term perspective. The position was translated into a refined visual identity and a consistent approach to communication, behaviour and customer experience. Activated through campaigns, sponsorships, strategic initiatives and internal culture, it aligned what Santander said, what it did and what it delivered.

The result was more than a new expression. It gave Santander a clearer role in the Nordic region.

The responsible direction has since become increasingly visible in Santander’s Nordic business. In 2022, Santander financed 13.9% of all new battery-electric vehicles across the Nordic market. Electric-vehicle financing increased by 37% to €1.48 billion, while home-energy financing in Finland grew by 266% in number of contracts. Today, Santander serves more than 1.2 million customers across the Nordic region and is recognised by Fitch as a leading Nordic consumer-finance franchise.