The banking giant is weighing up its future after becoming frustrated with regulation, a source told the Financial Times.
Reports over the weekend suggested that Santander was reconsidering its presence in the UK market, due to the high-cost base, UK ring-fencing and independent board and lack of benefit from rising interest rates compared to other markets.
Reports also suggest the high street lender could be turning more attention to the US and considering opening more branches there.
While bank closures for its 14 million customers could be on the cards, the possible options for the future of the firm also include keeping its business running in the UK.
Following the reports, a Santander spokesperson said: “The UK is a core market for Santander and this has not changed.”
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The move follows the bank having to settle a high volume of motor finance mis-selling complaints. This is due to the ruling on 25 October last year that found car dealers in three cases acted unlawfully when receiving a level of commission from lenders without informing customers.
It had to put £295m to one side in anticipation of the big payout to customers, with a deadline of 4 December 2025 imposed on firms to respond to customers with their investigation.
If the move away from the UK goes ahead for the Spanish banking provider, it would mean closures for 444 of its branches.
After the reports emerged, senior members of staff were contacted to inform them that the business reviewed its strategic priorities in all markets annually and this was “part of business as usual”.
Santander is one of the largest lenders in the UK, and UK Finance figures from July found that it has 10.7% market share and a mortgage balance of £172.6m.
