Spanish banking giant exists Australia
(25 August 2016 – Australia) Spanish banking firm Banco Santander will be exiting the Australian market, the latest foreign lenders to leave.
The bank, which is one of the largest companies in the world, started local operation in 2012, in a bid to increase its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to the latest APRA figures, Santander had around A$160 million worth of loans on its books at the end of June, mostly lent out to businesses.
The closure follows that of international banks such as Barclays, which closed local operations earlier this year, Canada-based GMP and Malaysia’s CIMB.
Santander will continue servicing clients in the region from its offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing.
The Spanish giant reported a June quarter profit of €1.28 billion, down nearly 50 percent from the previous year following restructuring charges and fees to help fund “bail-ins” across Europe dragged on the group’s earnings.
In recent bank stress test in the US, Santander’s subsidiary was one of only two banks to fail the Federal. Along with Deutsche Bank’s US arm, Santander revealed “broad and substantial weaknesses” across its capital planning.
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