Santander's Footprint Pays Off

Wall Street vacillates between loving companies that stay lean, focused and specialized and loving those that diversify across the board and across the globe. Banking is no exception; investors often question whether the diversification benefits of global expansion are worth the headaches and the risks. Looking at the first half results from Spain's Santander (NYSE: STD), I think we have a strong tally in the "diversification is good" column. 

The Quarter That Was
Santander had a relatively good second quarter - that is, it was not a terribly good quarter unless you view it in the context of a pretty unimpressive reporting season for banks overall. Net interest income did grow 4% sequentially and net operating income rose 1% sequentially. How those results came to be is a critical part of the Santander story. Spain and the U.S. were not strong contributors, but the company's operations in Brazil and Latin America did quite well, as Latin American profits rose 12%.

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