High street lender Santander is considering exiting the UK market as one of a number of strategic options, reports suggest.
Reports over the weekend suggested that Santander was reconsidering its presence in the UK market, with the high cost base, UK ring-fencing and independent board and lack of benefit from rising interest rates compared to other markets cited as frustrations.
The lender also recently had to set aside £295m following a motor finance mis-selling case in the Court of Appeal, which centred on the disclosure of dealer commission on motor finance transactions.
The reports suggested that it wanted to focus on other growth regions, such as the US.
However, this was one of several strategic options, the reports said, and the bank may decide to retain the business.
A Santander spokesperson said: “The UK is a core market for Santander and this has not changed.”
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A report from The Guardian has suggested that the bank had issued a note to senior managers that said that the business reviewed its strategic priorities in all markets annually and this was “part of business as usual”.
The bank entered the UK retail banking market in 2004 with the acquisition of Abbey National and has grown to 14 million customers and 444 branches across the UK.
From a mortgage perspective, Santander 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 reports also come off the back of Santander reducing its headcount by 1,400 in October last year.
Santander’s latest results, which cover the first nine months of 2024, show that its profit before tax came to £947m, which is a drop from £1.7bn in the same period the year before.
The firm added that mortgage loans had reduced by £5.5bn since December 2024 but that new business margins and gross lending had “improved”.
