A Santander Group company has decided to expand further. Santander Digital Services, which operates in Gdynia, announced on 8 March that it is reinvesting and increasing its workforce.
Santander Digital Services company is a specialised unit of the Santander Group whose activities focus on the prevention of money laundering and financial crime, as well as authorising the reliability of financial operations. The branch is celebrating its 15th anniversary in Gdynia this year. Santander Digital Services has become a key player in the Santander Group’s strategy and structure, and the services provided in Pomerania cover clients from all over Europe.
– Observing the direction in which our business profile is evolving, we feel immense satisfaction. We are consistently building the competences our customers expect from us in the organisation. At the same time, we are opening up new development prospects for our employees. We are historically linked with the Pomerania region, it is here that we took our first steps on the Polish market and it is here that we continue to see the potential for the development of our business – assesses Bartosz Marciniak, General Director of Santander Digital Services in Poland.
Santander’s development in Gdynia
In 2022, the company has opened up to a number of new technology projects and banking processes, among them AntiMoney Laundering, Financial Crime Fighting, Client Due Dilligence and Transaction Monitoring. Santander Digital Services now employs 1,200 people nationwide, 600 of whom joined last year alone. In the Pomerania region, meanwhile, the number of employees reaches 700. The reinvestment planned for the coming period (and the expansion of employment by a further 300 people nationwide) is part of the organisation’s policy of activating its own employees. Over the years, the company has focused on internal development, building a career path within the organisation, fearlessly entrusting trust to young people. Numerous programmes have also been implemented in cooperation with the Poviat Employment Office in Gdynia – training and activation programmes – firmly believing in the strength of Pomeranian human resources.
It is also worth recalling that last month the company announced plans for business development in Slupsk. Santander Digital Services is actively recruiting employees who, in the age of remote working, will gain the opportunity to develop their careers without having to migrate from their hometowns.
BSS market getting stronger
Currently, more than 35,000 people work in the BSS sector in the Tricity and office space has exceeded one million m2. In the last six months, centres of companies such as Armatis, Solidigm and Grid Dynamics have joined the region’s business landscape. Significantly, incumbent companies are steadily increasing employment and expanding their operations – such as Santander Digital Services.
– Modern business services are one of the most dynamically developing industries in Poland. Thanks to the activities of Invest in Pomerania, we managed to build a presence in the industry in the Tricity practically from scratch and over the following years we were able to regularly announce new investment projects. And we continue to do so. Tricity offers excellent conditions for modern sectors of the economy, which is proven by the reinvestment of a company from the Santander Group in Gdynia – says Mieczysław Struk, Marshal of the Pomeranian voivodeship.
There would be no development of the BSS segment if it were not for the wide potential of the Pomeranian human resources. Highly qualified employees at all levels are a strong motivating factor for the activity of both individual companies and the entire business services sector. As Marcin Grzegory from Invest in Pomerania argues, the dynamics of the labour market is of fundamental importance for FDI:
– Foreign investors appear where the human potential guarantees the stability of their operations. That is why cooperation between business and science, additionally supported by public authorities, is so important. We take initiatives to consolidate these circles, and also support the supply of employees in key industries for the market ourselves. Thanks to the Invest in Pomerania Academy, more than 1,100 people will receive training to qualify for jobs in the IT and port and logistics industries by the end of the year!
Gdynia’s business potential
Gdynia has long since moved away from its reputation as a typical port city. The BSS market, with particular emphasis on the IT sector, is growing with further investments in modern office space. Examples of companies that feel comfortable in Gdynia can be multiplied. Local branches of Sony, Nordea or DNV have been operating here for many years.
– Gdynia is an increasingly attractive place for modern investments. This is due to a number of factors, including its location in the centre of a developed region, transport links and the high quality of office space. This is confirmed by the consecutive high ranking the Pomerania region received in this year’s edition of the best locations in Europe for foreign investment in fDi European Cities and Regions of the Future 2023. Companies from the business services sector are locating in Gdynia, thus offering well-paid jobs to qualified employees, contributing to the economic development of the city. In today’s world we are seeing the importance of cyber security, especially financial security. I am all the more pleased that Santander Digital Services, a company offering services in the field of technology and advanced operational processes, has been developing its potential right here in Gdynia for 15 years – sais Wojciech Szczurek, Mayor of Gdynia.
