Santander y BBVA crecen en EEUU con dos megaoperaciones de Uber

Santander and BBVA have both seen significant growth in the United States through two major Uber-related transactions. Uber has hired both banks to assist with their recent mega-operations in bond and financing markets. This strategic move by the banks to expand their presence in U.S. investment banking is driving their portfolio of mandates in the country and enabling them to have better positions in Wall Street and Silicon Valley deals.

Santander has managed to elevate its relationship with Uber. The Spanish bank now serves as the joint book-running manager, the highest level of involvement, in Uber's most recent $4.5 billion eurobond issuance. They also serve as the loan provider for Uber's $7.7 billion dollar (6.7 billion euro) financing and the credit to help fund part of the $13 billion purchase of Delivery Hero, the owner of Glovo.

Meanwhile, BBVA is working with Uber for the first time in a major capacity, although in a less prominent role compared to Santander, as they are only co-managers in the eurobond issuance and below in the two loans.

Both banks have capitalized on their growth in the U.S. and their strength in Europe, which becomes even more important when companies want to conduct cross-border transactions. Uber needed to start financing in euros and extend its investor base to European funds after acquiring Delivery Hero, a German company. Therefore, they issued their first eurobond, following their recurring dollar bond issuances since 2018 without any diversification.

Similarly, the loans also have a specific objective of paying for the acquisition, with one of them targeting specific funding. However, diversification is achieved through different banks. Uber is only the latest major contract, as Santander and BBVA are becoming a constant presence in the loans and bonds of major U.S. companies.

BBVA claims that three-quarters of the S&P 500 companies, the main index of the New York Stock Exchange, are BBVA clients, while Santander has made the U.S. its fastest-growing market. Santander's corporate & investment banking arm has seen a 40%+ increase in commission-based income in the first half of the year, compared to 7.5% for the entity as a whole.

This growth boost can also be attributed to SpaceX, which helped Santander secure a syndicate posting for Elon Musk's satellite company, the largest IPO listing in history.