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Profits at Santander’s British business have tumbled after it was hit by the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. Pre-tax profit for the nine months to the end of September fell by 59 per
cent to £319 million after the lender took £547 million in loan impairment charges, mainly as a result of the virus outbreak. The figures came as its Spanish parent company warned that it
was aiming to find a further €1 billion in cuts from its European operations by 2022, in addition to the €1 billion the group has targeted from the region by this year, raising the prospect
of thousands of job losses across the Continent. Santander, which is based in Madrid, is Spain’s largest bank. The British division said last year that it wanted to find £400 million in net
savings. Nathan Bostock, chief executive of Santander UK, said that he did not expect the announcement to change the plans for the British business, which has cut about 1,300 jobs in a year
and announced 140 branch closures last January. Santander UK had been hit by a price war in the mortgage market, but this has eased in recent months. It also has cut the interest rate it
pays on its 123 accounts, relieving pressure on its net interest margin, which rose to 1.67 per cent from 1.49 per cent at the end of June. Advertisement
