Santander’s boss has dismissed stories that it is looking to pull out of the UK at the convention of investment bankers.
Speaking in Davos, executive chairman Ana Botin insisted “we love the UK”, following reports in the Financial Times that the Spanish bank is reconsidering its presence here.
“It is a core market and will remain a core market for Santander,” she told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
But analysts responded with scepticism to those comments.
US bank Jefferies said Santander’s returns in the UK have been “below expectations for almost two decades”.
Reports since the FT story have also highlighted the uncertainty and confusion that might arise if Santander did depart.
Having entered the UK market when it took over the Abbey National, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester building societies, it has a major chunk of the UK market.
The group recently was a prominent cutter of mortgage rates, prompting others to follow suit.
Santander UK also recently set aside £295 million to cover potential compensation costs for mis-sold car loans, with the UK business cited as one of the most exposed of the big lenders.