MADRID — Credit unions in a number of markets will soon face a new bank competitor. Spain’s Banco Santander said it will buy U.S. regional lender Webster Financial for $12.2 billion, a move that would vault it into the top 10 U.S. retail and commercial banks by assets.
Webster Financial primarily operates in the Northeastern United States, with a strong presence across New England and the Mid-Atlantic, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.
The bank is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., and operates mainly through Webster Bank, focusing on commercial banking, middle-market lending, health care financial services, and retail banking in those regions.
Gaining $327 Billion in Assets
Under the deal, Santander would gain a combined U.S. balance sheet of about $327 billion in assets, deepening a long-running bet on the U.S. market championed by Executive Chair Ana Botín. Unlike several European rivals that have scaled back U.S. operations, Santander has expanded steadily, including in auto lending and, more recently, corporate and investment banking, noted Reuters in its reporting.
Santander entered the U.S. in 2005 with its purchase of Sovereign Bank. The Webster deal would further strengthen scale, profitability and funding costs, Botín said.
Santander said the acquisition could generate about $800 million in annual cost synergies, roughly 19% of the combined cost base, and lift U.S. return on tangible equity to about 18% by 2028.
