On Oct. 3, Banco Santander successfully sold €7 billion worth of bonds to 129,000 retail investors to finance the acquisition of the Dutch bank ABN AMRO. The $9.9 billion in bonds were sold through the bank's branch network, which handles its private banking clients, and the average amount purchased by each investor was about €54,000.
On the same day, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria introduced a mortgage-based financial product that provides home owners over the age of 65 a lifelong income, paid monthly, based on the value of their home and their age, in exchange for the property - which they could continue to occupy.
