Santander boss issues major update over fears bank could leave the UK
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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.
