The update from executive chairman Ana Botin comes after the Financial Times reported last week that Santander could quit the UK due to excessive red tape
The executive chairman of Santander has issued an update after it was reported that the bank could leave the UK.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ana Botin denied the plans and said Santander would remain in the UK “into the future”. Mrs Botin suggested the rumours had been spread by investment bankers. She said: “We love the UK. It’s a co-market and will remain a co-market for Santander. Punto [full stop].”
Santander has around 14 million customers, along with 20,000 employees across 444 branches in the UK. In October, it announced plans to cut around 1,400 jobs as part of plans to cut costs. The bank has been in the UK since it purchased Abbey National in November 2004.
A Santander UK spokesperson added: “We remain focused on providing excellent products and services to our 14 million customers in the UK. The UK is a core market for Santander, and this has not changed.” It comes after the Financial Times reported last week that Santander could quit the UK due to excessive red tape.
There were strict rules introduced after the 2008 financial crisis, which means large banks have to separate their retail banking from riskier investment and international activities. The newspaper reported that this has resulted in lower returns for banks in the UK, compared to other countries.
Separately, in November last year, Santander revealed it was setting aside £295million to cover the cost of potentially paying compensation to car loan customers. This saw its third-quarter pre-tax profits fall to £143million from £558million a year earlier.
Santander also revealed in its third quarter figures that mortgage lending had slumped by £5.5billion since December last year, while customer deposits have reduced by £7.9billion in the first nine months of 2024 after it cut rates on savings accounts to make them less attractive after forking out more to savers earlier in the year.
A former Santander executive was reported as saying that it has “always been a possibility” that bosses could choose to sell. Mrs Botin did not deny her frustration with the current red tape “constraining” banks, and said: “Let’s take a pause on regulation because that is constraining growth, big time.”
