Santander said it “intends to integrate TSB in the Santander UK group”. The TSB name could disappear from UK High Streets after the British bank’s Spanish owner announced its sale to rival Santander.
The takeover would create Britain’s third largest bank by share of personal current accounts. The deal adds £35bn in customer deposits to Santander UK’s £181bn and create a combined firm serving nearly 28 million customers in the UK.
Both banks are no strangers to closing branches, having closed scores in recent years. A Santander spokeswoman said: “For now it is business as usual for Santander UK and TSB colleagues,” but she did not rule out branch closures, and said there would be job cuts.
TSB has 175 branches in the UK and 5,000 employees while Santander has around 349 bank and 18,000 staff, but it has been shutting branches, saying more customers are choosing to bank digitally.
“At the moment nothing changes with branches. It is true, however, that the way customers are choosing to bank is changing and all banks are currently undergoing a programme of transformation that reflects this.
JOB LOSSES
The deal is expected to close in the first three months of 2026, and its value could go up to £2.9bn considering TSB’s estimated profits until then, Sabadell said.
Customers and regulators will be watching Santander’s IT plans closely. Under Sabadell’s leadership TSB suffered an IT meltdown in 2018 which left customers unable to access online accounts for several weeks.
TSB said it will continue to use its current IT system “until migration” to Santander in order to guarantee “operational continuity”.
The TSB is one of the UK’s oldest financial groups having been first established in 1810. It was once owned by Lloyds but the European Commission compelled it to spin off the business as a separate brand after Lloyds received a £20bn bailout during the 2008-9 financial crisis.
Previous takeovers involving the Spanish-based bank around the world has seen it rebrand under the Santander banner. In the UK it has a track record of buying up UK bank brands and absorbing them into the business, with past takeovers including Abbey, Bradford & Bingley, and Alliance & Leicester.
The TSB’s chief executive Marc Armengol welcomed the deal saying it represents the next exciting chapter for this successful business, as part of Santander, a “highly regarded banking group”.
SANTANDER STAYING
Earlier this year Santander was reviewing its UK business, with a retreat from the country among the options it was reported. Regnier has complained about the unique tax treatment faced by banks operating in the UK.
Barclays are said to have held talks about a possible sale but could not agree on a price. Santander’s executive chair Ana Botin said the deal reiterated its commitment to the UK as a core market.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Santander buys TSB for £2.9bn – what it means for customers of both banks )
Also on site :