Santander

Is Santander safe?

Yes. Santander came through the 2008 crisis without taking state capital, which few big European banks can say, and in 2017 it was the bank that took over the failed Banco Popular overnight. At 30 June 2026 its CET1 ratioCET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary was 14.0% against an estimated requirement of 9.8%, and its liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary about 155%. We score it 77/100, level with BNP Paribas. The deductions are for a large 2024 data breach, UK and US penalties, and a balance sheet that is about to get bigger.

A group of separate banks

Santander is built differently from most global banks. Instead of running branches from Madrid, it owns separately capitalised subsidiaries in each main country, each funding itself from local deposits and supervised by local regulators. For a depositor this means your protection depends on where your account is:

Where you bank	Entity	Deposit protectionDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary
Spain	Banco Santander, S.A.	FGD, €100,000
Spain (online)	Openbank	FGD, €100,000, separate entity
United Kingdom	Santander UK plc (also cahoot)	FSCS, £120,000
United Kingdom	TSB Bank plc	FSCS, £120,000, own licence for now
United States	Santander Bank, N.A. (Webster Bank merged in August 2026)	FDIC, $250,000, one limit for both brands

In 2026 Santander merged Santander Consumer Finance into Openbank in Europe, creating one legal entity under the Openbank brand.

In the US, Santander closed its $12.2 billion purchase of Webster Financial on 20 August 2026, and the FDIC records Webster Bank, N.A. as merged into Santander Bank, N.A. that day. Webster branches keep their name and systems until about the end of 2027, but legally they are one bank now. If you hold money under both brands, FDIC rules insure the former Webster deposits separately for six months after the merger (longer for some CDs); after that the two count together toward one $250,000 limit per ownership category.

Capital: strong now, but busy

The 14.0% CET1 ratioCET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary is high partly because Santander booked a large gain on selling its Polish bank in early 2026, worth about 95 basis points. It then spent about 55 basis points on TSB in April 2026, and in August 2026 it completed the $12.2 billion purchase of Webster Financial, a US regional bank agreed in February. Santander says it expects to end 2026 with a CET1 ratio of 12.8% to 13%, still about three points over its requirement.

Ratings are solid single-A: Moody's A1 (raised in October 2025 after Spain's own upgrade), S&P A+ and Fitch A, with senior debt at A+. They sit below those of HSBC because of Santander's large businesses in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, where economies and currencies are more volatile.

Liquidity and funding

Santander is a retail bank first. It had €1,134 billion of customer deposits at the end of June 2026, mostly from households and small businesses, and loans of €1,149 billion, so it lends out about all of what it takes in. That is a tighter ratio than at more liquid peers, but its liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary of about 155% shows a large cushion of liquid assets. Each country bank manages its own liquidity, so a run in one market should not drain another.

Conduct and security record

• December 2022: the FCA fined Santander UK £107.8 million for "serious and persistent gaps" in anti-money-launderingAnti-money launderingThe rules and checks that stop criminals from moving illegal money through banks, payment firms and crypto exchanges.More in the glossary controls covering more than 560,000 business customers between 2012 and 2017.
• May 2020: Santander Consumer USA agreed a settlement of about $550 million, mostly in loan forgiveness, with a group of US state attorneys general over subprime car lending.
• 2025–2026: Santander UK has set aside money for the FCA's motor finance redress scheme, including extra provisions in early 2026.

The biggest security event was in May 2024, when an unauthorised party accessed a database at a third-party provider holding data on customers in Chile, Spain and Uruguay and on all current staff. Santander said no passwords, online banking details or transaction data were in it. A criminal group later claimed to be selling data on 30 million people. Customers in those countries should expect targeted phishing that uses real personal details.

How to keep your money safe at Santander

1. Check the legal entity on your account documents, not just the logo. Openbank, Santander UK, TSB and Santander Bank N.A. each fall under different schemes and limits.
2. In the UK, keep no more than £120,000 per person across Santander UK and cahoot. TSB is separate for now, but check again if it is merged into Santander UK.
3. If you are in Spain, Chile or Uruguay, treat calls and texts that quote your personal details with extra suspicion after the 2024 breach. Santander will never ask for your full passwords or one-time codes.
4. Approve payments in the app rather than by text message codes where possible.

How we scored it

Stability history (88) is Santander's best factor, and deposit protectionDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary (86) benefits from its country-by-country structure. Digital security (68) is the weakest because of the 2024 breach, followed by conduct (58). See also Barclays for another UK high-street option.