Santander: banking giant to cut 1,425 UK jobs as profits increase by 11% - will local branches close?

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The job cuts are part of of ongoing cost-cutting measures 📉
  • Santander plans to cut 1,425 jobs across its UK operations as part of cost-cutting and automation efforts
  • CEO Héctor Grisi announced the cuts, with most expected to conclude by late 2024
  • The bank’s UK division delayed releasing financial results due to a recent court ruling
  • A Court of Appeal decision requires lenders to fully disclose commission on car finance deals
  • Santander disputes the court’s ruling, stating it sets a new, stricter disclosure standard
  • The bank is assessing the potential financial impact of this judgement on its operations

A major bank is set to cut over 1,400 jobs across its UK operations this year as part of ongoing cost-cutting initiatives.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday (29 October), the bank’s CEO, Héctor Grisi, said that the company plans to eliminate 1,425 UK-based roles, advancing its efforts to automate more operational processes.

The company had 21,812 workers in the UK at the end of September, according to its latest financial report. The majority of the cuts are reportedly already in progress and are expected to be finalised by the end of 2024.

The job cuts could potentially lead to branch closures, as the bank’s cost-cutting and automation efforts often impact physical locations.

Santander and other major banks have been closing branches in recent years to reduce expenses as more customers turn to online and mobile banking.

This trend suggests that further restructuring could mean fewer branches, especially if in-person demand continues to decline, though Santander hasn't explicitly linked this specific round of job cuts to branch closures.

The announcement comes as the wider Madrid-based bank revealed its profit increased by more than a 10th in recent months. The substantial job losses also coincide with a delay in the release of the UK division's latest financial results due to a key court ruling related to car finance.

(Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)(Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
(Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Santander UK said it disagrees with the conclusions reached by the Court of Appeal in its ruling on Friday (25 October). The court sided with consumers in a row over commission earned by companies selling car finance loans.

In the case, three people claimed they did not know their dealer was receiving more commission as a result of fixing a higher interest rate on their credit agreement.

The judgement therefore sets a precedent for the wider motor finance industry by ruling that any dealers receiving commission from lenders must ensure their customers are fully informed about the arrangement.

Santander, which offers car loans, said the judgement “sets a higher bar” for the disclosure of such commission arrangements “than had been understood prior to the decision” under current laws and regulations.

The lender said it therefore “disagrees with the conclusions reached by the court”.

Santander added that it will not be able to “reliably estimate at this point in time the extent of any potential financial impact”, but that it is taking time to consider the judgement and the “potential exposure” it creates for the bank.

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