The TSB name may no longer be seen on UK High Streets as the Spanish owner of the British bank has announced its sale to competitor Santander.
The acquisition, valued at £2.65bn and still subject to approval from Sabadell’s shareholders, would result in TSB being integrated into the Santander UK group.
This merger would create the third largest bank in the UK in terms of personal current account market share.
A spokesperson for Santander stated that for the time being, there will be no changes for Santander UK and TSB employees, but branch closures and job cuts are not ruled out due to potential duplication in back office roles. Any impact on employees will be communicated directly to them and their representatives.
TSB currently has 175 branches and 5,000 employees in the UK, while Santander has approximately 349 branches, but has been closing branches as more customers opt for digital banking.
Santander UK’s spokesperson also acknowledged the changing landscape of banking and the ongoing transformation of all banks to adapt to this change. They also stated that it would not make sense to have two branches of the same bank in one community.
The deal is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2026, with a potential value of £2.9bn, taking into account TSB’s projected profits until then, according to Sabadell.
TSB’s CEO, Marc Armengol, expressed excitement for the future of the business as part of Santander, a highly respected banking group, and believes it will be a great fit for their loyal customers.
Santander has a history of acquiring and incorporating UK banking brands, such as Abbey, Bradford & Bingley, and Alliance & Leicester.
Details on the future of the TSB brand will be provided after the deal is completed, according to Santander.
Ana Botin, executive chair of Santander Group, stated that the acquisition of TSB showcases the bank’s confidence in their strategy and the UK market.
This potential sale is the latest development in TSB’s long history, dating back over 200 years. It was previously owned by Lloyds and was spun off as a separate brand by the European Commission after Lloyds received a bailout during the global financial crisis. Lloyds eventually sold its remaining stake in TSB to Sabadell in 2015 for £1.7bn.
Following the takeover, TSB experienced an IT crisis in 2018, which resulted in customers being unable to access their online accounts for several weeks. This was due to an unsuccessful transfer of 1.3 billion customer records from Lloyds’ old system to Sabadell’s system.
The bank was fined £49m by the Financial Conduct Authority for significant failings. TSB has stated that they will continue to use their current IT system until the migration to Santander to ensure operational continuity.
Sabadell is selling TSB in an attempt to defend against a hostile takeover bid from BBVA, a Spanish bank.