Banco Santander SA (STD) hasn't changed its plans for an initial public offering of its U.K. unit in the second half of 2011, Chief Executive Alfredo Saenz said Thursday.

"I want to confirm the plan for an IPO in the second semester and that is what we said before, and we will meet that target," Saenz said on a conference call, adding that it is too early to talk about valuation for the unit.

The Spanish bank also ruled out the need for a capital increase at group level. "We absolutely rule that out," said Chief Financial Officer Jose Antonio Alvarez. He said Santander expects to increase its capital ratio 0.15 percentage point a quarter through retained earnings, which together with the proceeds from the U.K. listing would bolster the bank's capital base.

Santander said earlier Thursday core capital rose 0.3 percentage point in the last three months to 8.8%.

-By Christopher Bjork, Dow Jones Newswires; +34913958123; christopher.bjork@dowjones.com
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