Last week, Spanish bank Banco Santander announced plans to use the recent strong financial performance of its Mexican unit as leverage to raise .3 billion in a stock offering — the largest ever in Mexico’s history. Part of a longer-term expansion plan in Latin America, the move is also designed to signal to financial markets that the bank has high growth potential outside of its troubled home markets in Spain and the eurozone. In an interview, Wharton management professor Mauro Guillen and Adrian Tschoegl , a Wharton lecturer, discuss how the deal fits in with Santander’s master plan. The professors are authors of a book titled, Building a Global Bank: The Transformation of Banco Santander .

An edited transcript of the conversation follows.

Knowledge at Wharton: This is the largest stock offering ever in Mexico, with proceeds expected to reach about $4.3 million. Would you comment on just how significant this is for Banco Santander and also for Mexico itself?…