How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

During periods of instability or crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we address the management of legal aspects in a rapid, creative, and strategic manner. We evaluate legal and operational risks within the context and situation, especially those that are complicated, seeking to minimise legal risks as much as possible. Our approach aligns this management with the commercial strategy and the needs of our clients, considering the situation and the given context, especially considering the importance of the financial services that we provide as a bank. Additionally, we seek to anticipate the needs and requirements of our clients, given the urgency with which they may arise in that context. Furthermore, we maintain constant monitoring, even after the period of instability or crisis, to verify that the controls have been implemented to minimise legal risks.

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?

Banco Santander Perú has a Sustainability Policy that defines our sustainability approach, aimed at both the creation of long-term value and the management of social and environmental risks. Banco Santander understands that sustainability is based on creating value for all its stakeholders: employees, customers, shareholders, and society. Thus, it has voluntarily assumed certain ethical, social, and environmental commitments that go beyond legal obligations with its main stakeholders. In this sense, Banco Santander also aims to design products and services of a social and environmental nature, with objectives including promoting social and financial inclusion and contributing to the conservation of the environment and the mitigation of climate change. Additionally, it aims to incorporate ethical, social, and environmental aspects into its decisions, alongside financial and risk criteria, in accordance with the sustainability policy. In this sense, the legal advisor contributes to the definition and formalisation of the legal documentation required to implement “green products” that promote sustainability.

What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?

I believe that Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain will have an impact on the legal profession in the near future. These technologies will allow legal functions to be performed more efficiently, automate operational and repetitive tasks, avoid operational errors, and standardise tasks and criteria. All of which will allow efforts to be concentrated on tasks that require greater legal analysis. I stay up to date with these developments through local and international training, as well as through the working groups that the Santander Group has worldwide with the legal areas of all countries.