God. The banking world never fails to give us drama, does it? Just weeks after Santander announced it was cutting loose its troubled car loans division (amid that whole mis-selling mess), we now learn they've turned their nose up at NatWest's £11 billion offer for their UK retail banking operation.
I nearly spat out my coffee when I heard this news.
What's REALLY going on behind those fancy glass doors?
According to the Financial Times, NatWest (backed by the big guns at Morgan Stanley and UBS) made their move earlier this year, but Santander executives basically said "thanks but no thanks" - apparently the price tag was too low for their liking. The approach has now been abandoned completely.
This whole situation feels weirdly timed. Back in February, Santander's chief exec Ana Botín stood there with a straight face telling everyone the bank wasn't for sale. Meanwhile, they've been slashing jobs left and right in the UK - over 2,000 positions gone since last October. Not to mention those 95 branches they're shutting down.
Show me the money
It's worth noting that Santander recently pocketed a cool €7 billion from selling a big chunk of their Polish banking operation. My banking industry contact (who texted me last night: "this is all about the Americas play") suggests they're using that cash to fund Botín's aggressive expansion plans in the US corporate and investment banking sector.
The Americas, not Europe, seems to be where their heart is these days.
Car finance nightmare won't go away
Remember that car finance scandal? Santander has already set aside £295 million to deal with customers who got a raw deal on their car loans. Ouch.
Some City analysts reckon that ditching teh car finance division might actually be a strategic move to make the UK operation more appealing to potential buyers. Benjamin Toms from RBC Capital Markets told The Telegraph: "Shifting of the consumer finance business out of the UK subsidiary could be an important step in this sale process."
"Given the ongoing litigation in the motor finance space, removing this product from the equation, will likely help with the marketability of the Santander UK asset."
Translation: Nobody wants to buy a bank with a potential lawsuit time bomb attached.
The official line (which nobody really believes)
When asked about all this, Santander's spokesperson trotted out the party line: "As we have said, the UK is not for sale and is a core part of Santander's diversified business model which is proven to deliver attractive, sustainable returns over the long term."
NatWest didn't even bother responding when The Sun asked for comment. Poor PR team probably still recovering from the rejection.
Text alerts? Gone with the wind
In other annoying Santander news, they've just killed off their text alerts service today. I've relied on those messages for years to keep track of my balance and large withdrawals.
Santander claims this change will somehow help customers "get a more detailed view" of account activity online or through mobile banking. Because apparently checking our phones for a text is just too darn complicated in 2025?
Consumer rights expert Martyn James didn't mince words about this move, calling it "only a bad thing for consumers."
"With the closure of the bank networks, it's more important than ever that banks and financial institutions make sure we know about the important things that affect our money," he said.
"Text alerts are vital as people actually read them and act on them. We forget about checking our online accounts – or go in to denial about them – and most people don't read their app messages."
I spent $40 last year on data overages just to check my banking app while traveling abroad. Would've been nice to just get a text...
If you're as fed up as I am with these changes, it might be time to shop around. Several other banks still offer text alerts, adn some will even throw cash at you to switch. Worth considering, especially if you're not a fan of being glued to banking apps.
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Did you miss our previous article...
https://hellofaread.com/money/perranporths-property-bargains-emerge-as-cornwalls-beach-paradise-sees-13k-price-drop
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