Santander has agreed to buy the lender TSB in a £2.9 billion deal, casting uncertainty over what this means for account holders and staff.
This week, bosses at the Spanish-run bank confirmed plans to “integrate TSB in the Santander Group,” if they receive approval via a shareholder vote.
News of the potential sale was welcomed by TSB’s chief executive Marc Armengol, who said it “represents the next exciting chapter for this successful business, as part of Santander, a highly regarded banking group.”
Meanwhile, the CEO of Santander UK, Mike Regnier, said the deal was “excellent.”
"This is an excellent deal for customers, combining two strong and complementary banks, creating one of the most substantial banks in the UK and materially enhancing the competitiveness of the industry,” he said.
Although the deal is subject to approval, it’s thought it could go through as early as 2026 and would result in Santander becoming the UK’s third biggest bank as a result.
However, news of the British retail and commercial bank’s prospective sale to Santander has raised concerns about whether this will lead to job losses and branch closures across the UK.
Account holders will also likely be wondering what this means for their bank accounts.
Here’s what we know.
What does the Santander takeover mean for TSB account holders?
TSB serves around five million customers, and its 2024 financial report revealed that 244,000 new Personal Current Accounts and 756,000 new Savings Accounts were opened last year alone. It currently holds £34 billion in mortgages and £35 billion in deposits.
The takeover means that Santander will acquire millions of UK customers into its portfolio, but it’s unclear whether TSB accounts will migrate to Santander systems at this point.
A spokesperson for TSB confirmed to The Standard that it’s business as usual for customers, who will be notified by TSB of any further updates.
While the deal is still in its early days, it’s also thought that TSB account holders will benefit from access to Santander’s network.
According to a press release by Santander about the acquisition, “When combined, the two banks would serve nearly 28 million retail and business customers nationwide, giving TSB customers access to Santander’s international network and allowing them to benefit from the group’s leading technology platforms.”
What does this mean for TSB branches?
TSB currently employs around 5,000 staff across 175 branches, but there is now much uncertainty about its future.
Reports claim that TSB could “vanish” from UK high streets as a result of the deal, but at this point it’s too early to tell what comes next.
As it stands, Santander hasn’t signalled whether it plans to scrap TSB.
News of the acquisition comes after a tumultuous period for TSB, after it faced technical outages and was fined £10.9 million by regulators for its treatment of people in financial difficulty.
At the time, regulators said TSB’s “woeful systems and controls exposed its customers to risk of harm”.
