Santander UK to freeze salaries, mulls further job cuts - report

(Sharecast News) - Banco Santander's UK arm is freezing salaries and considering further job cuts, it was reported on Monday, as it continues to shake up the business. According to The Guardian, citing internal emails, Santander has frozen the wages of employers who were recently moved into teams with lower pay bands. Staff have also been warned of upcoming changes to bonus schemes, which will likely result in lower payouts.

Employees at Santander's Navigator brand, meanwhile, have been "put at risk of redundancy", The Guardian said. Navigator is a digital platform used by British business customers that want to expand overseas.

The Guardian said the overhaul could affect around 200 staff.

Santander, which employs around 18,000 people in the UK and has around 14m customers, has axed around 2,000 British jobs since October, as it manages costs and closes branches.

Santander told The Guardian: "We are mover to a fairer, more transparent bonus structure across Santander UK, which will promote higher performance at every level of the bank."

As at 0900 BST, shares in Santander were trading 1% higher in both Madrid and London.

The Spanish bank is pulling back its presence in some European countries as it focuses on expanding in the Americas.

It is understood that the group has also become frustrated with the higher costs and stringent regulations associated with the UK.

Earlier this month, it was reported that NatWest Group had approached Santander with a bid worth around £11bn for its UK arm, but the offer was rebuffed for being too low.

Since then, the bank has raised around €7bn from selling a large stake in its Polish unit, making a UK sale less likely.

A Santander spokesperson reiterated on Monday that the UK business was not sale. "As we have made clear, the UK is a core part of Santander's diversified business model is not for sale."