Santander Consumer Finance

Posted: 18 Mar 2012

See all articles by Gunnar Trumbull

Gunnar Trumbull

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Elena Corsi

Harvard Business School, Europe Research Center

Andrew Barron

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: December 13, 2010

Abstract

A Spanish company has to decide if they should expand into the fragmented European consumer finance market and has to make important organizational strategy decisions, in the midst of the world economic downturn that followed the 2007 US credit crunch. Since 2002, the consumer finance branch of the Spanish banking Grupo Santander, Santander Consumer Finance (SCF) had grown into one of the largest European consumer finance companies capturing the recent growth in Europe of the consumer finance market. Against a background of growing concern about the sustainability of household debt levels in Europe and the United States, in 2008 the new CEO, Magda Salarich Fern ndez de Valderrama, had to decide if this was the right time to expand or if instead she should focus on consolidation. She was also facing important organizational strategy decisions. Which functions should be left to national affiliates to decide, and which should be centralized at headquarters? What processes should be standardized, and which left to local initiatives?

Learning Objective: This case is intended to teach tools for managing a cross-border consumer finance company in a highly fragmented market such as the EU and better understand the European consumer finance market.

Suggested Citation

Trumbull, Gunnar and Corsi, Elena and Barron, Andrew, Santander Consumer Finance (December 13, 2010). Harvard Business School Finance case no. 711-015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2023600

Gunnar Trumbull (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Elena Corsi

Harvard Business School, Europe Research Center ( email )

Soldiers Field Road
Morgan 270C
Boston, MA 02163
United States

Andrew Barron

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

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