Santander boss gives major update on UK future amid fears the major bank with 14million customers will quit Britain

THE caput of Santander has fixed a large update connected the firm's aboriginal amid fears the slope would beryllium quitting the UK.

Recent reports suggested that the Spanish slope was reviewing its presence on the British high street after shedding hundreds of jobs over the past year.

The slope employs astir 20,000 radical crossed 444 branches, portion holding £200billion successful lawsuit lending.

And precocious past twelvemonth Santander said it was looking to chopped 1,400 jobs.

But Santander’s boss Ana Botin has present insisted the slope volition stay operating successful the UK.

The 64-year-old told the The Sunday Times: “The UK is not for sale.

"We emotion the UK and the UK volition stay a halfway market. We person a strategy reappraisal each year.

“The UK is profitable, the UK provides diversification to america due to the fact that it’s a antithetic currency, it’s a low-risk equilibrium expanse and I’m precise blessed with however the UK is making progress.”

It comes aft reports claimed Santander was considering a fig of options aft the UK limb of the slope saw little returns than overseas markets.

Speculation intensified past week erstwhile William Vereker, the erstwhile concern banker who chairs the UK operations, announced his volition to permission this year.

If executives opt to leave, the Spanish banking elephantine would look for a purchaser for operations here, reports the Financial Times.

The connection is said to person been partially triggered by vexation implicit costly UK rules introduced acknowledgment to the fiscal crisis, according to the FT.

This led to little returns than successful different markets, portion the slope has besides acceptable speech £295million to screen costs from the car concern scandal.

An estimated £13billion could beryllium owed successful compensation payouts with experts fearing this fig could really double.

The FT antecedently reported that 1 ex-Santander enforcement said it had "always been a possibility" that enforcement seat Ana Botín would flog the slope arsenic a effect of alleged ringfencing rules.

However, Botin stressed that the concern is not for merchantability and acquisitions are not connected the cards.

She told the outlet: “We would similar to grow, determination are antithetic ways of doing that.

"The 1 we’re focused connected is organic, done leveraging our planetary platforms.”

A spokesperson for Santander UK said: “We stay focused connected providing fantabulous products and services to our 14 cardinal customers successful the UK.

"The UK is simply a halfway marketplace for Santander, and this has not changed.”

Just past month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves told manufacture regulators they request to help revive Britain's floundering economy "by tearing down the regulatory barriers that clasp backmost growth".

She added: "I americium determined to spell further and faster to kickstart economical growth, which is the fig 1 precedence successful our Plan for Change.

"That means generating investment, driving betterment and a relentless committedness to basal retired discarded successful nationalist spending, and contiguous I volition beryllium pressing regulators connected what much they tin bash to present growth."

BANKING HUBS

Communities crossed the UK are campaigning for banking hubs - which person go a captious lifeline for towns near without a slope subdivision to entree cardinal services.

Banks person closed much than 6,000 branches since 2015 arsenic providers propulsion customers to usage online and app-based services instead.

In response, banking hubs person been created to springiness residents the accidental to negociate their money face-to-face and talk to unit from each of the large banks.

Most banking hubs are unfastened from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm each week.

They are owned by Cash Access UK and are operated by the Post Office.