Madrid, Jan 31, 2026, 22:38 CET — Market closed.
- Banco Santander shares closed at 10.78 euros on Friday, up 1.45% and near their 52-week high.
- Investors are parsing changes at Santander UK, including a new CEO appointment and a plan to close 44 branches.
- Next focus is Santander’s FY’25 earnings presentation on Feb. 4, followed by its Investor Day on Feb. 25.
Banco Santander shares ended Friday at 10.78 euros, up 1.45%, and briefly traded as high as 10.858 euros, leaving the Madrid-listed stock parked near a 52-week peak into the weekend. (Investing)
With the market shut, the near-term question is whether that bid carries into Monday as investors position for next week’s results and fresh reads on Santander’s UK business, where management is changing hands as it prepares for a large integration.
European bank stocks helped set the tone into month-end. The STOXX Europe 600 bank index gained 1.7% on Friday, and Spain’s IBEX ended up 1.7% after a strong outlook from Caixabank; “the initial reaction is one of a bit more caution” on U.S. rate cuts, EFG International’s Daniel Murray said, after Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to lead the Fed when Jerome Powell’s term ends in May. (Reuters)
In the UK, Santander named Mahesh Aditya as chief executive of Santander UK, tapping the group’s chief risk officer to run the business after Mike Regnier stepped down. The bank is trying to get the unit ready for a “complex integration” of TSB. (Reuters)
A day earlier, Santander UK said it would close 44 branches and replace them with “Community Bankers” working from so-called Santander Locals or banking hubs. “In response to a continuing and sizeable shift towards customers using digital banking, we are making changes to our branches,” a Santander UK spokesperson said. (Santander UK)
The UK arm said 96% of transactions are now completed digitally, and that branch transactions have fallen sharply since 2019, a backdrop investors have been using to judge how much cost can come out of legacy networks without losing deposits.
Santander agreed last year to buy TSB from Sabadell for £2.65 billion in cash, a deal it said was expected to complete in the first quarter of 2026, subject to approvals. That timeline puts execution risk back on the screen just as earnings season accelerates for European banks. (Reuters)
For Santander, next week’s print is likely to come down to the same basics: net interest income (what a bank earns on loans minus what it pays on deposits), bad-loan charges, and how much capital it has left after growth and shareholder returns. Any change in the UK plan, or a tougher view on integration costs, could move the dial.
But there is an obvious downside case. If credit quality turns, or regulators push back on the shape of the UK deal, the rally in bank stocks can fade fast — especially when rate expectations are swinging and investors are already leaning long financials.
The next hard catalyst is Wednesday, Feb. 4, when Santander is due to present FY’25 earnings; the bank’s calendar also flags an Investor Day on Feb. 25. (Santander)
