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Santander’s chairman has insisted the bank will remain in the UK “into the future” after it emerged that the high street lender was reviewing its British operations.
Ana Botin said the Spanish bank had no plans to exit the UK market, even as she warned that Europe was in danger of becoming a “museum” filled with over-regulated firms.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, she said: “We love the UK. It’s a co-market and will remain a co-market for Santander. Punto [full stop].”
Her comments come just hours after Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, launched an attempt to intervene in a Supreme Court case and protect lenders from paying huge compensation bills to victims of the car finance misselling scandal.
The Chancellor is reportedly concerned that the case could make it harder for drivers to obtain car finance.
Shares in Lloyds Bank rose by almost 5pc on Tuesday morning following the reports, while Close Brothers surged by as much as 21pc. Both companies are major car finance lenders.
Santander has been forced to set aside £295m to cover potential costs from the car finance scandal after the court ruling rattled the industry last year.
Strangled by red tape
The high street lender has also faced intense competition for mortgages and falling interest rates as well as lower returns compared with other markets as the bank is strangled by red tape.
There remains speculation that the group is considering stepping back from retail banking, which would put thousands of jobs at risk.
It comes two decades after the Spanish lender first entered the market by buying Abbey National. Today, the bank serves more than 14m UK customers, employs 20,000 people and has more than 400 branches across the UK.
Ms Botin said it was important that European policymakers did more to help entrepreneurs start and grow a business as she warned Europe faced a “crossroads” on growth.
She said: “We are at risk of becoming a museum. A lot of the innovation is actually happening in Europe. You know, we have a huge amount of start-ups. The issue is that they start here and then they go to the United States. I think Europe has a huge opportunity to lead.”