Banco Santander marks another milestone in its commitment to the United States and closes, almost seven months later, the acquisition of Webster Financial, a key piece in its strategy in the country. “The bank reports that this acquisition was completed on August 20, 2026, under the previously announced terms,” states the statement sent by the bank to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) early this Thursday.
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Just a few hours earlier, the Cantabrian-origin entity announced it had obtained approval from the Federal Reserve for the operation, agreed on February 3, and had previously also obtained permission from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the U.S. banking regulatory body, and the European Central Bank.
Santander has closed the purchase for 12.2 billion dollars, about 10.4 billion euros, as acknowledged by the entity in its latest earnings report. The acquisition of Webster, a U.S. retail and commercial banking entity, will allow Santander to strengthen its business in the U.S. and accelerate the achievement of its financial goals, as well as “improve the positioning and market share” of the entity in the U.S. In this regard, Santander values the American bank as “very complementary to the activity and services it already provides in the country.”
Once the integration is completed, the group chaired by Ana Botín expects that market to reach a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of around 18% in 2028. Likewise, the operation is estimated to generate an increase in earnings per share of around 7% to 8%, as well as a return on invested capital close to 15%, also by 2028.
According to Botín, “Santander US and Webster fit perfectly. Together, with the support of global platforms, technology, and Santander’s experience, we will create a stronger bank with the necessary scale to offer better service to our customers and the communities in which we operate. This combination will strengthen our position in one of the most attractive banking markets in the world and places us in a privileged position to build one of the best-performing banks among our competitors in the United States.”
When the operation is completed, most of Webster’s businesses will be integrated into Santander Bank, Santander’s banking entity in the United States. Until closing, both entities will continue to operate independently. Customers do not need to do anything for now: their accounts, products, and services will continue to function normally. According to the bank, any future changes will be communicated well in advance before they take effect.
With data as of the close of the first half of 2026, Santander had 1.5 trillion euros in total customer resources, more than 182 million customers, 6,500 branches, and 185,000 employees. Webster, for its part, has 80 billion dollars in total assets. It is a commercial bank that offers a wide range of financial products and services to businesses, individuals, and families through three business lines: commercial banking, financial services for the healthcare sector, and consumer banking. Although its main area of activity covers the northeastern U.S., from the New York metropolitan area to Rhode Island and Massachusetts, some of its activities operate in other parts of the country.
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Capital increase
The ordinary general shareholders’ meeting on March 27 approved the capital increase that supports the share exchange planned in the purchase of Webster. The effective issue price (nominal value and share premium) of the new shares has been set at 10.7896 euros per new share.
The total effective amount of the capital increase has reached almost 3.559 billion euros, with a total nominal amount of 164.9 million euros and a global share premium of nearly 3.394 billion euros. All the new shares have been fully subscribed and paid and will be delivered today.
In total, 329,846,438 new shares have been issued, representing approximately 2.2455% of Banco Santander’s share capital before the capital increase and 2.1962% after it. Santander has stated that this Thursday it will submit for registration the public deed of execution of the capital increase at the Santander Mercantile Registry and will request admission to trading of the new shares on the Spanish Stock Exchanges.
Likewise, admission to trading of the new shares will be requested on the foreign stock exchanges where the entity is listed.
After this operation, the bank chaired by Ana Botín has a share capital set at 7,509,582,970 euros, represented by 15,019,165,940 shares with a nominal value of fifty euro cents each. All shares belong to the same class and have the same rights.
