Strategic Agreement

Banco Santander Central Hispano SA
18 July 2000


STRATEGIC ACCORD BETWEEN BANCO SANTANDER CENTRAL HISPANO AND ARIBA

*  The agreement, which fits in the overall B2B strategy of the Group, covers   
  three main areas: e-procurement (a system to manage Group purchases),         
 marketplace (technology for creating digital markets) and the channelling of   
business flows through the Bank

*  The Bank becomes a technology provider for corporate clients
 
*  The agreement will include all Group companies and in a first phase covers   
  Spain, Portugal and Latin America


Banco Santander Central Hispano and leading U.S. Business to Business (B2B)
technology provider Ariba have signed a strategic agreement to provide
technology to the Bank in three main areas.

The first relates to market making, in B2B terminology 'marketplace'. Ariba will
provide Banco Santander Central Hispano with technology enabling the creation of
multiple digital markets between companies, both horizontal and vertical,
directly or indirectly promoted by the Bank in various business sectors.

The second involves setting up a technology platform with Ariba technology to
channel buy-sell operations in different markets, Bank services and financial
flows generated by these operations. Banco Santander Central Hispano will also
be able to make other non-financial added value services available to its
customers, whether those of the Bank or third parties.

This network will allow the Bank to provide the technology needed by its
corporate clients, providing the infrastructure for business transactions not
only for markets created in the framework of Ariba but also with any other
technology.

Banco Santander Central Hispano will also have access to Ariba's internal 
e-procurement tool, which provides a centralized management system for all the
Group's purchases, both in Spain and abroad, whose volume last year came to
approximately Ptas. 150 billion. The Bank hopes to achieve significant savings
in costs, transactions and time.  

With the signing of this agreement, which covers both the Iberian Peninsula and
also Latin America, Banco, Santander Central Hispano is taking a new step
forward in its global e-business strategy, in which it plans to invest US$450
million (between US$200-350 million in B2B and the rest in Business to
Consumer-B2C), and in which it is already taking part in mixed initiatives such
as the joint venture with Conext, of the EDS group, to create an e-procurement
center.