Is Banco Santander SA SAN stock halal to invest in?

Banco Santander, S.A. is a prominent multinational banking group headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Banco Santander operates across ten core international markets, spanning Europe, North America, and South America, providing a comprehensive suite of financial products and services to individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporations, financial institutions, and governments. Its major business segments include retail and commercial banking, digital consumer banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth management, insurance, and digital payments. For Muslim investors, though, the most pressing question is simpler: is Banco Santander a Halal investment?

Is Banco Santander Shariah compliant?

Finance is the sector where Shariah screening does the most work, because Riba is not incidental here, it can be the product itself. Banco Santander passes the business activity screen only if its revenue comes from permissible services rather than lending at interest, and the financial screens of AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 still apply in full.

Does Banco Santander pass the business activity test?

The activity screen is only part of the picture this month: Banco Santander currently fails the non-permissible income, interest-bearing investments and interest-bearing debt screens, so the overall verdict is not compliant regardless of the business itself. The watch item in this sector is the sharpest of all: revenue must come from permissible services, not from lending at interest.

Is Banco Santander's income Halal?

No. Banco Santander's income from impermissible sources currently exceeds AAOIFI's 5% revenue ceiling, which makes the stock non-compliant on this screen regardless of the others. The screen is reassessed monthly, so the status can change when new financial statements arrive.

Does Banco Santander meet AAOIFI's debt and investment ratio requirements?

No. Both ratios currently breach the 30% caps: interest bearing investments and interest bearing debt each exceed the limit AAOIFI permits for a Halal investment. The ratios move with the share price as well as the balance sheet, and our Shariah Supervisory Board has SAN re-screened every month.

Tabadulat is an ADGM regulated brokerage whose license covers Shari'a Compliant Regulated Activities, as the FSRA permission names them. New to the terminology? Gharar and Maysir, Sukuk, Zakat and purification are all explained in plain English.

New to the four screens? Read What is Riba? A Clear Guide for Ethical Muslim Investing