NYSE Shariah screener · October 2026

Is Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) Halal?

FAIL

Banco Santander, S.A. · NYSE: SAN · Financials

The short answer

No - Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) fails this Shariah stock screen at all three gates. Santander, the Madrid-based global commercial bank (the largest bank in Spain), has conventional interest-based lending as its core business - a haram activity under AAOIFI-style screens. Total liabilities of 1,754,767 million euros are about 900%+ of its ~$195.1B market cap ($13.28/share, October 2, 2026), far above the ~33% ceiling, and interest income of 101,710 million euros is about 173.4% of FY2025 total income (58,670 million euros), far above the 5% ceiling. Zoya and ShariaPortfolio independently rate Santander not Shariah-compliant / Not Compliant. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling - consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

Gate 1 — Business activity: FAIL

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN), founded in 1856 and headquartered in Madrid, Spain, is a diversified global commercial bank - the largest bank in Spain and the largest international bank in Latin America. Per its Form 20-F for FY2025 (filed February 27, 2026; accession 0000891478-26-000030), its segments are Retail Banking, Santander Corporate and Investment Banking, Wealth Management and Insurance, and PagoNxt. Core products: interest-bearing loans, mortgages, consumer finance, deposits, and debt capital markets. Business-screen implication (factual): interest-based lending is the core business - a haram activity under AAOIFI-style screens, consistent with this pipeline's precedent for conventional banks (Bank of America, Citigroup, Capital One, Wells Fargo). Gate 1 fails. Facts only.

Gate 2 — Debt and cash: FAIL

Per Banco Santander's Form 20-F for FY2025 (accession 0000891478-26-000030; euro millions), total liabilities were 1,754,767 million euros at December 31, 2025 (financial liabilities at amortized cost 1,421,184M + held for trading 171,546M + FVTPL 42,148M + other), against total equity of 112,748 million euros. Against a market cap of about $195.1B (14,689,319,502 shares outstanding x $13.28, October 2, 2026), total liabilities are about 900%+ of market cap - far above the ~33% ceiling (the ratio is so far over that no FX-rate precision matters). Gate 2 fails. Facts only.

Gate 3 — Non-compliant income: FAIL

Per Banco Santander's FY2025 Form 20-F (euro millions), interest income (Note 38) was 101,710 million euros, interest expense (Note 39) was 59,362 million euros, and net interest income was 42,348 million euros. Against total income of 58,670 million euros, interest income is about 173.4% of total income - far above the 5% non-compliant income ceiling (net interest income alone is 72.2% of total income). Third-party screener Zoya independently reports interest income of 101,710 million euros against revenue of 119,894 million euros (84.83%) - the same conclusion. Gate 3 fails. Facts only.

Key figures used

Business: diversified global commercial bank - largest bank in Spain, largest international bank in Latin America; founded 1856, HQ Madrid; segments: Retail Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, Wealth Management and Insurance, PagoNxt
FY2025 (20-F, filed Feb 27, 2026; euro millions): total income 58,670M; interest income 101,710M (Note 38); interest expense 59,362M (Note 39); net interest income 42,348M; profit attributable to parent 14,101M (record, 4th consecutive year)
Debt: 1,754,767M euros total liabilities (Dec 31, 2025) - about 900%+ of ~$195.1B market cap (14,689,319,502 shares x $13.28, Oct 2, 2026), far above the ~33% ceiling
Interest income: 101,710M euros - about 173.4% of 58,670M euros total income, far above the 5% ceiling (Zoya: 101,710M / 119,894M = 84.83%)
Business gate: conventional interest-based banking is the core business - haram activity under AAOIFI-style screens (precedent: BAC, Citigroup, Capital One, Wells Fargo)
Third-party screeners: Zoya rates 'not Shariah-compliant'; ShariaPortfolio rates 'Not Compliant' (banks NEC); Musaffa - no coverage found
Material: record FY2025 results; ongoing share buyback programme (~16.4% of 2021 outstanding shares repurchased as of Mar 2026); Webster Financial Corporation acquisition (Form 425, ~Aug 2026) - material US expansion; Poland disposal in progress
Listing: NYSE-listed ADR (ticker SAN), confirmed by 20-F and live quotes Oct 2, 2026 - no delisting

Frequently asked questions

What does Banco Santander do?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN), founded in 1856 and headquartered in Madrid, Spain, is a diversified global commercial bank - the largest bank in Spain and the largest international bank in Latin America. Per its Form 20-F for FY2025, its segments are Retail Banking, Santander Corporate and Investment Banking, Wealth Management and Insurance, and PagoNxt. Its core products are interest-bearing loans, mortgages, consumer finance, deposits, and debt capital markets. Its shares trade on the NYSE as American Depositary Shares (ticker SAN). In FY2025 it reported total income of 58,670 million euros and record profit attributable to the parent of 14,101 million euros.

Why does Banco Santander fail this Shariah screener?

Banco Santander fails this Shariah screener at all three gates. Gate 1 (business activity): conventional commercial banking - interest-based lending is the core business, a haram activity under AAOIFI-style screens. Gate 2 (debt): total liabilities of 1,754,767 million euros against a ~$195.1B market cap are about 900%+ of market cap, far above the ~33% ceiling. Gate 3 (non-compliant income): interest income of 101,710 million euros is about 173.4% of FY2025 total income (58,670 million euros), far above the 5% ceiling. Result: FAIL. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling - consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

What is Banco Santander's interest-bearing debt ratio?

Per Banco Santander's Form 20-F for FY2025 (filed February 27, 2026; accession 0000891478-26-000030; euro millions), total liabilities were 1,754,767 million euros at December 31, 2025 (financial liabilities at amortized cost 1,421,184M + held for trading 171,546M + FVTPL 42,148M + other), against total equity of 112,748 million euros. Against a market cap of about $195.1B (14,689,319,502 shares outstanding x $13.28, October 2, 2026), total liabilities are about 900%+ of market cap - far above the ~33% ceiling (the ratio is so far over that no FX-rate precision matters). Gate 2 fails. Facts only.

How much interest income does Banco Santander earn?

Per Banco Santander's FY2025 Form 20-F (euro millions), interest income (Note 38) was 101,710 million euros, interest expense (Note 39) was 59,362 million euros, and net interest income was 42,348 million euros. Against total income of 58,670 million euros, interest income is about 173.4% of total income - far above the 5% non-compliant income ceiling (net interest income alone is 72.2% of total income). Third-party screener Zoya independently reports interest income of 101,710 million euros against revenue of 119,894 million euros (84.83%) - the same conclusion. Gate 3 fails. Facts only.

Do Zoya, Musaffa, or ShariaPortfolio cover Banco Santander?

Zoya covers Banco Santander at zoya.finance/stocks/san and rates it 'not Shariah-compliant', quoting FY2025 interest income of 101,710 million euros (matching the 20-F exactly) and revenue of 119,894 million euros, calling interest income 84.83% of the combined total. ShariaPortfolio covers SAN at spscreener.mxcorporate.com: 'Not Compliant ... because of its involvement in Banks (NEC) and related activities.' Musaffa: no SAN stock page was found in targeted searches - honestly reported as no coverage found, not invented.

Sources

Screened 2026-10-02 from published company figures and market data. Figures change; this page is educational, not financial advice and not a religious ruling.

Screened with our two-gate Shariah screening methodology (business-activity gate, then AAOIFI-style financial ratios).