Santander: Rights wronged

Pre-emption rights are getting left behind. The notion that all shareholders should be allowed to participate in any discounted rights issue is a central tenet of European capitalism. Or it was, until recently. Both Santander and Barclays have snubbed shareholders in recent weeks. The Spanish bank’s deeply discounted E7.2bn rights issue has been closed off to 1.8m UK retail shareholders. They may only represent 6% of Santander’s capital - but account for 60% of its investors. This mass of holdo...