Spain Largest Bank $172 Billion Santander to Buy United States Webster Bank for $12.2 Billion in Cash & Share Deal Representing +14% Premium to 3-Day Average Price (2/2/26), Santander to Become Top 10 United States Retail Bank with $327 Billion Assets, $185 Billion Loans & $172 Billion Deposits, Webster Bank Founded in 1935
6th February 2026 | Hong Kong
Spain largest bank Santander ($172 billion market value) has announced to buy United Sates Webster Bank for $12.2 billion in cash & share deal, representing +14% premium to 3-day average price (2/2/26). Santander will become top 10 United States retail bank with $327 billion assets, $185 billion loans & $172 billion deposits. Webster Bank was founded in 1935. Announcement (3/2/26): “Banco Santander, S.A. (“Santander”) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Webster Financial Corporation (“Webster”), holding company for Webster Bank, N.A., a diversified U.S. retail and commercial bank headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, in a transaction that will create a stronger, more competitive bank for customers. The combination brings together two highly complementary franchises, significantly expanding Santander’s scale, deposit base and capabilities in the U.S., while enhancing the products, technology and services available to both banks’ customers. This acquisition, equivalent to approximately 4% of Santander’s assets, complements the Santander U.S. franchise by positioning the combined business as a top-ten retail and commercial bank in the U.S. by assets and a top-five deposit franchise across key states in the U.S. Northeast … … Founded in 1935, Webster serves individuals, families and businesses across Consumer, Commercial and Healthcare Financial Services. Webster is strongly positioned in affluent markets and middle market lending, with a stable and attractive source of deposits together with a complementary Northeastern branch footprint. Santander is recognized in the U.S. for its strong consumer finance franchise and, more recently, its enhanced digital deposit gathering capabilities led by Openbank to profitably support its U.S. lending businesses. The acquisition of Webster is expected to accelerate this strategy by integrating one of the U.S. market’s most efficient deposit gatherers with best-in-class funding costs to drive a material improvement in the joint pro forma funding costs … … Under the terms of the agreement, Webster is valued at an implied equity valuation of $12.2 billion (€10.3 billion), based on a consideration of $48.75 per Webster share in cash and 2.0548 Santander shares in the form of American Depositary Shares per Webster share, representing $26.25 per Webster share based on the volume-weighted average price of €10.79 per Santander share for the three-day period ended on 2 February 2026, and a EUR/USD exchange ratio of 1.1840 as of 2 February 2026, representing a total consideration of $75.00 per Webster share. The total consideration values Webster at a premium of 14% to Webster’s volume-weighted average share price of $65.75 for the three-day period ended on 2 February 2026. This equates to a price-to-earnings multiple of 10 times Webster’s consensus 2028 earnings or 6.8 times after projected cost-savings. The consideration mix represents 65% cash and 35% newly issued Santander shares in the form of American Depositary Shares or, if practicable, Santander ordinary shares. Once the transaction is completed, Christiana Riley will remain Santander’s country head in the U.S. and Santander Holdings USA (‘SHUSA’) Chief Executive Office (‘CEO’). Webster’s current CEO, John Ciulla, will be the CEO of Santander Bank NA (‘SBNA’) into which Webster’s businesses will be integrated. Luis Massiani, Webster’s President and Chief Operating Officer (‘COO’), will be COO of both SHUSA and SBNA with responsibility for leading the integration, reporting to both Ms. Riley and Mr. Ciulla. This will ensure continuity of leadership and strong alignment with customers, colleagues, communities and regulators. Santander’s and Webster’s experienced integration teams will support a disciplined transition, focused on service continuity, employee engagement and timely delivery of synergies. Mr. Ciulla and Mr. Massiani will both continue to be based in Webster’s existing headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, which will be a core corporate office for Santander, alongside its corporate offices in Boston, New York, Miami and Dallas. Tim Ryan will continue to chair the board of directors of SHUSA.”
“ Spain Largest Bank $172 Billion Santander to Buy United States Webster Bank for $12.2 Billion in Cash & Share Deal Representing +14% Premium to 3-Day Average Price (2/2/26), Santander to Become Top 10 United States Retail Bank with $327 Billion Assets, $185 Billion Loans & $172 Billion Deposits, Webster Bank Founded in 1935 “
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Ana Botín, Banco Santander Executive Chair: This is an exciting step forward for Santander, as it creates a stronger bank for our customers and the communities we serve. Webster is one of the most efficient and profitable banks among its peers, and brings together two highly complementary franchises and will expand the products, technology and capabilities we can deliver with clear revenue opportunities from a stronger, more capable combined franchise. This transaction is strategically significant for our U.S. business, while remaining a bolt-on for the overall Group. It allows us to strengthen our franchise in both scale and profitability—improving our funding mix and economics, including lower funding costs—and puts us on track to deliver around 18% RoTE in the U.S. by 2028, among the top five for profitability within the 25 largest U.S.”
Christiana Riley, CEO of Santander US: “This acquisition is a significant step forward in strengthening our commercial banking presence and filling in our retail branch footprint and scale, particularly in Connecticut where we are committed to maintaining a broad branch presence. The acquisition meaningfully expands our commercial franchise, resulting in a more balanced business mix and positioning us for sustainable, long-term growth. Equally important, we are bringing aboard a talented leadership team with a strong track record in building a high-quality bank, and we are excited about the value we can create together for our customers and communities. Webster’s existing headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, will be a core corporate office for Santander, alongside our corporate offices in Boston, New York, Miami and Dallas.”
John Ciulla, Chairman, President and CEO of Webster: “This is an exciting combination that brings together complementary strengths and a shared commitment to excellence. As a larger organization, we will unlock greater scale, broader capabilities and new opportunities for growth—while remaining deeply focused on the people who define our success. I look forward to joining the Santander team and enhancing our ability to support clients across our expanded footprint. As a Connecticut-based bank with deep roots in the state, we also look forward to continuing our commitment to the communities we serve in the region.”
Spain Largest Bank $172 Billion Santander to Buy United States Webster Bank for $12.2 Billion in Cash & Share Deal Representing +14% Premium to 3-Day Average Price (2/2/26), Santander to Become Top 10 United States Retail Bank with $327 Billion Assets, $185 Billion Loans & $172 Billion Deposits, Webster Bank Founded in 1935
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