Banco Santander Argentina (formerly Banco Río de la Plata and then Banco Santander Río) is a commercial bank and financial services company and affiliate of the Santander, Cantabria (Spain) based Santander Group. Based in Buenos Aires, its banking operations are the third largest in Argentina, as well as the largest among all privately owned banks in the country. The "Banco Río de la Plata" (named for the neighboring estuary of the same name) was established on May 14, 1968, via the acquisition of the Banco del Este by Pecom, a private holding company owned by the Pérez Companc family.