Santander launches a strategic plan called "Santander SMEs" to boost growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America. The plan aims to double SME lending to $20 billion and increase the number of SME customers by 100,000 per year to 1 million by 2016. It also seeks to improve SMEs' access to loans, technologies, skilled labor, and export markets. Santander's head of retail banking said supporting SMEs is important for economic growth but requires collaboration from governments, universities, large companies, and other organizations in addition to banks.