SANTANDER’S support for the leasing broker channel is to continue.
Last week Santander announced it was pulling out of asset finance in the UK. The bank said it would stop writing new business by the end of the year and would then run down its book over time.
However, a spokesperson said that the Santander broker channel would remain unaffected by the withdrawal, saying:
“The Consumer Finance business is entirely separate and unaffected by this.”
Tim Hinton, Head of Corporate & Commercial Banking, added:
“The banking industry is changing at a rapid pace and to ensure that we can continue to grow and improve our business and meet more needs for our core customers, we made some changes to our operating structure and focus earlier this year. Having reviewed our priorities, we concluded that now is not the right time for us to invest further in our small Asset Finance offering, which comprises less than 5% of our lending to Corporates and SMEs. We remain committed to continuing to support our corporate and commercial clients through our wide range of products and services.”
In the past Santander has been highly active in the broker channel with it PCH product.
Ralph Morton is the leading journalist in the leasing broker sector and editor of Broker News, the website which provides information and news for BVRLA-registered leasing brokers. He also writes extensively on the fleet and leasing market in both the UK and Europe.
