Santander UK CEO Regnier to resign Mortgage Finance Gazette

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Santander has announced that its UK chief executive Mike Regnier will step down by the first quarter of next year.  

The bank, owned by Spain’s Banco Santander, said it has begun a search for his successor in a market statement. 

Regnier joined Santander UK in March 2022, with the lender saying, “he has overseen a significant programme of change and transformation within the business, culminating in the acquisition of TSB Banking Group”.

Regnier said: “It had been my intention to move on after four to five years with Santander, as I have other interests I would like to pursue.   

“Given that the integration of TSB will take considerably longer than this, I have suggested to the board that now would be a good time to find a successor who can see this critical project through to its completion and beyond.” 

Santander agreed to buy TSB for £2.65bn from Spain’s Banco Sabadell in July, in a deal that will make it the fourth-largest mortgage lender in the UK.   

TSB turned in £34bn of mortgage lending last year, equivalent to 2% market share of the UK market. It has a nationwide network of 218 branches, serves around five million customers and has £35bn in deposits.   

In the UK, Santander’s mortgage lending came in at £167.2bn last year, according to its annual report. It has 444 branches and £183.4bn in customer deposits.   

Banco Santander executive chair Ana Botin said: “We now have real momentum in the transformation of the UK bank, leveraging the investment and scale of the group in its strategy to become the best bank for customers in the UK and for our shareholders.

“Our decision to acquire TSB accelerates our strategy and is a clear statement of intent in our ambition for Santander in the UK.  Mike was always very clear about his intention to stay for up to five years.” 

Santander UK chair Tom Scholar added: “With strong succession plans in place, we expect to be able to conclude the process to appoint a successor in the early part of 2026.” 

In February, Botin was forced to deny that the Spanish giant was looking to sell the UK bank. 

This came after reports emerged that the group was unhappy with onerous ringfencing rules brought in after the 2008 financial crisis, which require UK high street lenders to keep these units separate from other investment operations.