Santander names new TSB boss ahead of takeover
Santander has named the new top boss of TSB Bank as the firm gears up for its blockbuster takeover of the high street unit.
The Spanish-headquarted banking giant – which beat out its peers to snap up TSB for £2.6bn last July – appointed Nicola Bannister as the new chief executive of TSB.
Bannister ascends to the top post after three years at the bank, of which the last has been spent leading the business transition for its takeover by Santander.
Prior to TSB, she spent two decades across multiple leadership roles at Lloyds, including group ambassador for Wales and customer financial assistance effectiveness director.
It comes amid a major leadership reshuffle at Santander, with UK chief Mike Regnier announcing his exit last year to allow a new leader to properly oversee the TSB integration.
The group’s risk officer Mahesh Aditya was named as his successor at the end of January;.
Santander’s TSB takeover raises branch questions
Former TSB chief Marc Armengol, who was in the post for just over a year after nearly a decade at the bank will head to the firm’s former parent company Banco Sabadell.
Santander’s bid for an all-cash takeover of TSB from Sabadell valued the lender at five times its expected 2026 net income.
TSB is expected to add five million customers, £34bn in mortgages and £35bn in deposits to Santander’s portfolio, as well as its 218 branches.
But controversy has already emerged around the future of the TSB name on the high street, with Santander adopting an aggressive approach to culling its branch network.
Santander said it would close another 44 branches last month, which will put 291 jobs at risk of redundancy, as it turns its focus to its digital offer to keep at pace with its fintech competitors.
The move was attributed to “changing consumer behaviour” but marks the latest major retreat from the high street amid growing concerns around access to cash.
Analysis from Lightyear showed nearly 3,700 bank sites closed between 2016 and 2024, creating 41 ‘banking deserts,’ which refer to local authorities where at least one branch shut for every 10,000 residents.