BOSTON and MADRID, Oct. 21,
2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Santander today announces that it has
agreed to sell its retail and commercial banking franchise in
Puerto Rico, Santander Bancorp
(the holding company that includes Banco Santander Puerto Rico), to
FirstBank Puerto Rico, for a total consideration of approximately
$1.1 billion (€1 billion)
1.
Banco Santander Puerto Rico is the fourth largest banking
franchise on the Island with a deposit market share of c.8%. It has
27 branches and 1,000 employees, with total assets of $6.2 billion (€5.6 billion).
FirstBank Puerto Rico, which is headquartered in San Juan, is a strong, established and
well-regarded bank on the Island. The combined business will offer
customers the second largest branch network in Puerto Rico, with combined total assets in
excess of $17 billion.
The consideration represents a 1.1x price to total book value,
and the transaction is expected to close in the middle of 2020,
subject to regulatory approvals. In the meantime Santander will
continue to serve its customers as normal. Santander will maintain
a presence on the Island, including through Santander Consumer
USA, and a retained loan portfolio
with a net valuation of $220
million.
Scott Powell, Chief Executive
Officer of Santander Holdings USA,
Inc. said, "We are pleased to reach this agreement with
FirstBank Puerto Rico. FirstBank Puerto Rico shares our values and
our commitment to customers, and the local communities. Once
completed, the transaction will provide the combined FirstBank
Puerto Rico and Santander Bancorp Puerto Rico the ability to offer
a broad array of retail and business banking products and services,
with the scale to compete through an enhanced branch network to the
benefit of both banks' current and future customers."
The consummation of the transaction will lead to an increase in
the Group's CET1 capital of 5-6 basis points and immaterial impact
on Santander Group attributable profit.
|
1 The
purchase price, as of June 30, 2019, would comprise: $425
million (€380 million) a 17.5% premium on consolidated core
tangible common equity of $362 million, plus $638 million (€570
million) of consolidated excess capital paid at par, and is subject
to adjustment based on the consolidated balance sheet at
closing.
|
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a
leading retail and commercial bank, founded in 1857 and
headquartered in Spain. It has a
meaningful presence in 10 core markets in Europe and the Americas, and is the
largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization. At the
end of June 2019, Banco Santander had
EUR 1.03 trillion in customer funds (deposits
and mutual funds), 142 million customers, 13,000
branches and 200,000 employees. Banco Santander
made underlying profit of EUR 4,045 million
in the first half of 2019, an increase
of 2% in constant euros compared to the
same period last year.
Santander Holdings USA,
Inc. (SHUSA) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Madrid-based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN)
(Santander), one of the most respected banking groups in the world
with more than 142 million customers in the U.K., Europe, Latin
America and the U.S. As the intermediate holding company for
Santander's U.S. businesses, SHUSA includes five financial
companies with more than 17,500 employees, 5.2 million customers
and assets of over $144.8 billion.
These include Santander Bank, N.A.,
one of the country's largest retail and commercial banks by
deposits; Santander Consumer USA
Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC), an auto finance and consumer lending
company; Banco Santander International of Miami; Banco Santander Puerto Rico and
Santander Securities LLC; and Santander Investment Securities Inc.
For more information about Santander
Bank, visit www.santanderbank.com.
Media Contacts:
Laurie Kight
Santander Bank
214-801-6455
laurie.kight@santander.us
Nancy Orlando
Santander Bank
617-757-5765
nancy.orlando@santander.us
Safe Harbor
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements"
concerning Santander and SHUSA. The words or phrases
"expect," "anticipate," "intend," "look forward," "should,"
"would," "believes" and similar expressions are meant to identify
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the
safe harbor created by such sections. Such statements are
subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies
that may cause actual results to differ materially from the
expectations, intentions, beliefs, plans, estimates or predictions
of the future expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies
include, but are not limited to the successful fulfillment
or waiver of all closing conditions without unexpected delays or
conditions; the successful closing of the transaction within the
estimated timeframe; financial results during the period prior to
signing; and other factors, risks and uncertainties, including
those factors described in SHUSA's Annual Report on Form
10-K, in its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, in Santander's Form
20-F, and in other filings that Santander and SHUSA make with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Santander and SHUSA
do not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to
update any "forward-looking statements" to reflect occurrences or
unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such
statements, except as required by applicable law.
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SOURCE Santander Holdings USA,
Inc.