Jose Platas

Executive Director Securities Finance and Collateral Management, Banco Santander CIB

Jose Platas began his career in 2007 - just in time to watch the global financial system catch fire - working the night shift in the back office of Banco Santander’s Hong Kong branch (from Madrid). While the world was melting down, Jose was mastering settlements by moonlight and studying for his Master’s in Financial Markets by daylight.

In 2010, as Santander expanded across Asia, he relocated to Hong Kong to support the Asia CFO in launching new branches across the APAC region. Two children (born in Hong Kong) and countless adventures later, Jose proudly credits his wife’s support for making it possible to both develop trading capabilities and occasionally sleep more than four hours. The mission was a success — goals met, deadlines beaten, and family still intact.

A planned move to Shanghai as Branch Manager took an unexpected turn when the Trading Head lured him into the short-term trading desk. From there, Jose traded an eclectic mix of products and proudly helped Santander become the first Spanish bank to operate in CNH — a small milestone in financial history, a big one in caffeine consumption.

In 2015, a new chapter brought him back to Madrid to join the Securities Finance desk, where he has since continued to push innovation and growth — embodying Santander’s enduring spirit: adapting, innovating, and occasionally thriving amid crises that make great stories for conference introductions.

After 18 years, and now serving as Senior Repo Trader specialized in long-term repo and illiquid assets, here we are — at the Euroclear Collateral Conference — to talk about the strengths, opportunities, and new challenges of the repo market.