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Santander talked about the potential sale of the Retail of the Spanish Business of the Spanish lender with Natwest, according to people who are familiar with the issue.
The early stages conversations were held last year, but interest remains both sides in a potential agreement, people added.
Santanger insisted that his retail company in the UK is not “for sale” because the Financial Times reported last month that he is Research of a potential output After two decades on British High Street.
One person familiar with the situation said Santander had not approached any party about selling business in the UK.
However, the discussions between Santander and one of Britain’s biggest borrowers are likely to ask additional questions about the desire of the Spanish bank to continue fighting it in the highly competitive mortgage market.
“Santander UK is not for sale. The UK is still the fundamental part of Santader’s globally diverse business model, “Sangater said in a statement. He added that the model had “significant potential progress in years to come, including the UK.”
Natwest said, “We don’t comment on speculation.”
Two banks have levels of strategy. Santander maintains a widespread international presence, while Nat -west Ever since the financial crisis withdrew to focus on its domestic market.
Santanger became frustrated by the British Ringfencing regime, the high cost of his unit in the UK and the weaker yields than other Santander markets.
Natwest, meanwhile, has been prepared for more aggressive growth after the British government sells the last of its share of the crisis of £ 46 billion, which is expected to come in the next four months.
One person familiar with Natwest strategy said his retail bank had room for growth and exploring the possibilities of M&A in anticipation of returning to completely private ownership.
Executive Director Natwest Paul Thwaite said FT -O’s banking summit In December, the lender was on the “front foot” when it comes to acquisition.
Ever since Thwaite took over the helm of the bank in July 2023, Natwest bought most of the Sainsbury Bank and the £ 2.5 billion of the main housing mortgage from Metro Bank.
The Santara’s company in the UK has previously attracted the interest of other domestic rivals.
The Spanish group rejected the “Low Ball” offer last year for the Barclaya unit, FT reported last week. Analysts estimated that Santanger could generate between 11 billion euros and 15 billion euros from the sale of the unit.
“Barclays is more logical, but Natwest is probably weird because they desperately want to move away from the legacy of the financial crisis and the government’s share,” said one person familiar with discussions.
Last week Santander’s company in the UK reported a net profit Of the EUR 1.3 billion for 2024, a 15 percent drop in the previous year. Return to tangible capital – a measure of the profitability of the bank – it also remained far below the other key markets of Santander.
The wider group reported a record annual profit in the 2024 year after the larger rates increased net revenue from interest, and its corporate and investment bank published a leap of revenue from the fee.
The Spanish Bank tries to convince investors of the merits of its global strategy and that its presence in a different series of markets on which it operates is complemented by each other.
