14th February 2025
Banking & Finance Barcelona News Business Catalonia News Madrid News Main News

Santander insists ‘UK is a core market’ amid reports that the bank might exit Britain

Banco Santander has insisted that the ‘UK is a core market’, amid reports that the bank is reviewing its presence in Britain, two decades after its acquisition of Abbey National made it a major player on the country’s high streets.

The original report came from The Financial Times (FT), citing sources familiar with the matter.

The report said that the bank is reportedly exploring a range of strategic options including exiting the UK market, although the review was still at an early stage and no deal or announcement was imminent.

It also said that the banking giant would be focused on its expansion in markets where it is rapidly growing, such as the United States.

Santander bank had confirmed back in October that it was cutting 1,400 jobs across its UK business as part of its efforts to reduce costs.

Santander bosses are also reportedly frustrated with British rules including ‘ringfencing’ regulations, which force bigger banks to separate and protect their consumer deposits from the rest of their investment banking operations.

UK Watchdogs have promised to ease some of those restrictions, although the proposals are so far aimed at supporting smaller banks that have fewer deposits.

The FT said that Santander’s review was part of ‘a regular assessment of its major businesses’, and their source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

‘The UK is a core market for Santander and this has not changed,’ Santander responded in a statement on Sunday.

According to The Guardian, an internal note that was sent to senior managers, which was signed off and approved by the executive chair of the Madrid-based parent company, Ana Botín, said that if anyone asks ‘is it true that you are reviewing your presence in the UK?’, then bosses should respond by saying that Santander executives ‘review strategic priorities in all our markets annually. This is part of business as usual’.

In response to being asked if the bank is ‘planning to exit the UK’, managers were being instructed to say: ‘The UK is a core market for Santander. This has not changed. We remain focused on delivering our strategic priorities and continuing to serve our 14 million customers in the UK.’

Santander competes in the UK with banks including Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC, and which is one of 10 markets the Spanish bank considers key, including Mexico, Brazil and its home market in Spain.

Barclays had previously approached Santander about a possible offer for its UK business but it did not lead to anything, the FT report also said. 

Santander’s potential exit from the UK also comes months after the bank was forced to delay the release of its third-quarter results because of a car finance commission scandal.

Santander UK responded to a court ruling by putting aside £295m to cover potential payouts to car loan customers in November.

Sign up for the FREE Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.

Please support Spain in English with a donation.

Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.

Click here for further details on how to ADVERTISE with us.

 

Recent Posts

Trump announces reciprocal tariffs on EU in retaliation to VAT

News Desk

Spanish, French, German Foreign Ministers: no Ukraine deal without EU

News Desk

Ryanair ad campaign depicts Spanish minister as clown in ‘illegal’ fines row

News Desk

Rubiales ‘absolutely sure’ that Hermoso said he could kiss her

News Desk

Barça player denies inappropriately touching opponent in women’s football match

News Desk

Around 15,000 Madrid residents call on local government to resolve ‘housing emergency’

News Desk

Leave a Comment