Santander UK chair William Vereker will step down at a time when the parent of the lender is considering its future in Britain.
Spain’s Banco Santander said Vereker will “during the course of 2025”, once an appointment process and orderly handover has been completed.
Vereker joined the board of the UK bank in November 2020, it added in a statement last night after markets had closed.
Banco Santander group executive chair Ana Botin said: “Under his [Vereker] stewardship, Santander UK has navigated Covid and a difficult economic environment to provide the support its customers, clients and people needed.
“He has overseen the essential transformation of the business that will make the UK a core part of the group’s success in the years to come.”
The move comes after reports emerged earlier this month that the Spanish lender is in the early stages of exploring several strategic options, one of which is exiting the UK.
However, Santander said: “The UK is a core market for Santander and this has not changed.”
Santander UK holds 14 million customers and employs 20,000 staff across just under 450 branches. Its mortgage loan book stood at £170.8bn at the end of June.
An exit would come two decades after Santander bought Abbey National in 2004 to become a presence in the UK lending market.
Barclays has previously approached Santander about a possible offer for the UK business but these talks did not lead to a sale because the parties could not agree a price, according to Reuters citing a person familiar with the talks.
