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Santander overtook UB as the most valuable bank in continental Europe after Donald Trump’s tariff-induced market defeat was attacked more violently than his peers.
UBS stocks have stumbled almost 15% since the US president announced a “mutual” tariff raft on April 2, causing the market to sell. The Spanish lender’s shares have only dropped by about 5% over that period.
According to Bloomberg data, the market value overtook UBS at 85.7 billion euros, which saw the market close at 91.3 billion euros at Santander’s 91.3 billion euros, according to data from Bloomberg.
The positional change shows Santander’s iconic turnaround, which has struggled to raise its whimsical stock price for most of the past decade, highlighting the challenges UBS faces.
Swiss Bank has held the crown of the most valuable lender in the European continent since August 2023 following the acquisition of Credit Switzerland earlier that year, with its market value approaching 120 billion euros this February.
However, its stock has fallen significantly below its European counterparts in recent weeks.
Morningstar analyst Johan Scholtz said UBS’s stock was suffering following Trump’s tariff announcement, as it had a much more direct exposure than other European banks.
“UBS is highly market dependent — more than the average European bank and more globally diversified than its peers. This is useless if you are assuming ongoing de-globalization and geopolitical tensions,” said Andreas Venditti, analyst at Vontobel.
The “ongoing regulatory debate” in Switzerland has remained “the main reason” of UBS’s recent performance and fellow European and US peers, Venditti added.
Last week, UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher opposed the proposed reforms to Swiss bank capital rules. Speaking at UBS’s annual meeting, Kelleher said the “extreme” measures would force lenders to hold 50% of their capital.
Meanwhile, Santander is one of the best European Bank stocks this year, rising more than a third since January.
While some investors in the Spanish group have questioned the strategic logic of its diverse geographical holdings, Anabotin, the bank’s executive chair, said earlier this month that the market “recognizes the group’s value and the strength of the model.”
“The board and I are confident that by implementing our strategy we will continue to generate profitable growth. There are still important benefits.”
Most eurozone lenders have benefited from sector gatherings over the past year after weathering interest rate declines and pledging pledges to shareholders who have pledged records. The Euro Stoxx Banks index, which tracks the largest lender in the eurozone, has grown by more than 20% since January despite recent market turbulence.
Santander and UBS follow the rankings of French BNP Paribas and Italian universities, with market capitalizations of 8.09 billion and 78.9 billion euros, respectively. HSBC is the most valuable lender in Europe, including the UK, with a market value of £137.8 billion.
UBS and Santander declined to comment.
