Santander sells a 10% stake in Moroccan bank

Spain's largest bank Santander, reported on Monday that it has sold a 10% stake in Attijariwafa Bank of Morocco to the north African country's Societe Nationale d'Investissement, in a deal thought to be worth 4.15 billion dirhams, or about 367 million euros.

Santander will still hold a 4.55% stake in the bank, it said in a statement to Madrid's stock market regulator. The sale is expected to bring Santander a capital gain of about 223 million euros, which will be reported in next year's results.

Santander successfully managed to avoid investment in products affected by the collapse of the US subprime mortgage market but has been hit by the economic slowdown and the collapse of the property boom in Spain. The bank reported in October that a third-quarter net profit of 2.2 billion euros and forecast a 2009 profit of 8.8 billion euros.