The bank’s chief executive officer (CEO) Hector Grisi revealed on Tuesday (October 29) that Santander is cutting 1,425 jobs in the UK as it pushes forward with efforts to automate more parts of its operations.
It is understood that the job cuts have already been made and the rest are expected to be finished by the end of 2024.
The company had 21,812 workers in the UK at the end of September, according to its latest financial report.
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Santander UK delays release of financial results
The wider Santander Group unveiled its third-quarter financial results on Tuesday.
It reported a pre-tax profit of 4.9 billion euros (£4.1 billion) between July and September, 11% higher than the same period last year.
Executive chairwoman Ana Botin said: “In an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment, we are confident that we will maintain this strong momentum throughout the rest of the year, delivering on all our targets, and continuing into 2025.”
🎥💬 Héctor Grisi, our Group CEO, discusses our results for the first nine months of 2024 in this brief video #EarningsSantander $SAN
Read more https://t.co/XdqZ5BLsB7 pic.twitter.com/2MDRt4jUQ0
— Santander (@bancosantander) October 29, 2024
Santander’s UK division delayed the publication of its latest financial results to consider the impact of a major court decision on car finance commission.
Santander UK said it disagrees with the conclusions reached by the Court of Appeal in its ruling on Friday (October 25).
The court sided with consumers in a row over commission earned by companies selling car finance loans.
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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 judgment 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 judgment “sets a higher bar” for the disclosure of such commission arrangements “than had been understood prior to the decision” under current laws and regulations.
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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 judgment and the “potential exposure” it creates for the bank.
The court ruling could result in big changes for lenders and could also lead to an influx in complaints from people who have been sold car finance loans in previous years.