Santander’s executive chair Ana Botin has said its UK banking operations are “not for sale” and it remains a “core market”, a report suggests.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Botin said the bank had a strategic review every year and that the UK business was profitable and offers “diversification” as it was a different current and low-risk balance sheet.
She said the business would “like to grow”, adding that she was pleased with Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ discussions with regulators to promote growth and stability.
The comments come after rumours earlier this month suggested that Santander was reconsidering its presence in the UK market due to its high cost base, UK ring-fencing and independent board and lack of benefit from rising interest rates.
The bank was keen to dispel the rumours, with a spokesperson at the time reiterating that the UK was a “core market” for the bank and that this “has not changed”.
Santander has been in the UK market for around 20 years, having bought Abbey National for around £8.5bn in 2004.
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Santander UK’s chair William Vereker also confirmed that he would also step down this year, having only joined the firm in 2020.
The bank is one of the largest lenders in the UK, with UK Finance figures – which come out in July – indicating that it has 10.7% market share and a mortgage balance of £172.6m.
The firm’s latest results for the first nine months of 2024 show its profit before tax came to £947m, which is a drop from £1.7bn in the same period the year before.
Santander’s mortgage loans have reduced by £5.5bn since December 2024, but new business margins and gross lending had “improved”.
