Interview: Lovells' Joaquin Ruiz Echauri

Santander's swoops for Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley have seen the Spanish financial services giant rapidly become synonymous with savings - not to mention Lewis Hamilton - in the UK and a household name. Alongside the continued might of Mapfre, this has prompted some commentators to suggest Madrid may be on the verge of a new era of influence as one of Europe's foremost financial centres.

But something that is less remarked upon is the Spanish capital's recent success at serving as a launch pad for European insurers with a keen eye on expansion into Latin America. The strong historical