Santander Santiago registers US$162mn in guaranteed mutual funds

The guaranteed mutual funds offered by Chilean bank Santander Santiago (NYSE: SAN) recorded an investment of 90.8bn pesos (US$162mn) at the end of November, a bank spokesperson said in a press conference. The figure is equivalent to a market share of 69.2% in this segment for the bank. This type of alternative investment has had an explosive growth; during 2003 its managed funds in the guaranteed mutual area came to 45.6bn pesos, Francisco Murillo, president of Santander Santiago Administradora de Fondos Mutuos said. The total number of participants in guaranteed mutual funds in 2003 was 4,609, while to 30 November of this year it reached 12,546, of which 8,600 were with Santander Santiago Administradora de Fondos Mutuos. Santander Santiago is a subsidiary of the Spanish Grupo Santander (NYSE: STD), which manages the largest banking franchise in Latin America and Spain.