Santander Launches 300+ Global Intern & Graduate Roles to Build I-Banking Talent

Santander’s new call for over 300 young talent roles in Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, in partnership with Universia, represents a clear strategy to cultivate early‐career professionals globally. The two program tracks—the Summer Internship and Graduate Program—are designed to attract both students nearing degree completion and those who have recently graduated, providing a stepped entry into investment banking. [1]

The Summer Internship spans eight weeks and targets students in their penultimate undergraduate year or first year of a master’s degree. Interns will be embedded in Global Banking, Global Markets, or Global Transaction Banking teams, working on substantive projects under mentorship. Those who complete the internship may be considered for the Graduate Program. [1]

The Graduate Program lasts one full year and is aimed at final‐year students or recent graduates, including those finishing their master’s. Participants will join multidisciplinary teams to work on live transactions with major clients, gaining international exposure and developing skills critically relevant to core investment banking functions. [1]

The programs are operational in “more than 10 countries,” with roles spread across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and other key markets, aligning with Santander CIB’s global footprint. [1][4] This geographic diversity may help with talent diversification and align recruiting with local market demands.

Beyond recruiting, Santander also emphasizes its long‐standing investment—over €2.4 billion in education, employability and entrepreneurship, involving more than 3.7 million beneficiaries through scholarships, grants, and university partnerships via Universia. [1] These numbers provide credibility and scale to its human capital agenda.

Strategic implications:

• By offering such scale in early‐career banking, Santander is positioning itself to build internal bench strength for high‐growth banking areas (M&A, structured finance, capital markets).
• The global/geographic approach supports building a more diversified, resilient workforce, which could help mitigate biases associated with recruiting solely in traditional financial centers.
• Such programs are costly—not only in terms of direct compensation but also mentoring, evaluation, and retention. The risk is high attrition post‐program or losing talent to competitors unless pathways are clearly defined.
• Competition for talent is intense: Santander must ensure its brand, program structure, and remuneration are competitive with US banks, boutiques, and European rivals.

Open questions:

• What are the specific compensation levels, and how do they compare with peers? Intern stipend, full‐year graduate salary etc.
• How are countries differentiated in terms of number of roles, business area exposure, or language/cultural expectations?
• What are conversion rates from the internship to graduate program, and town‐hall transparency regarding that?
• What is Santander’s retention strategy post‐program, especially for high performers who receive external offers?
• How is diversity, equity and inclusion integrated into selection and ongoing development?