Santander to launch Openbank in the US this year
Spanish banking group Santander plans to launch its digital banking subsidiary Openbank in the US later this year.
Santander to launch Openbank in the US
Established by the group in 1995, Openbank operates a suite of digital financial services including current accounts, lending, mortgages and open deposits.
Backed by €18 billion in deposits, the group forecasts that Openbank’s state-side debut will take place in the second half of this year, alongside a launch in Mexico “in the same timeframe”.
Openbank expanded beyond its native market to Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands in 2019, before successfully landing in Latin America with its launch in Argentina in 2021.
The group claims the subsidiary’s imminent launch in the US marks the first time Santander has combined all its core proprietary technology “to deliver an innovative and secure cloud-based banking platform”.
The bank anticipates the launch will accelerate its push into the US, where it hopes to generate enough deposits to fuel the growth of its auto financing franchise.
The group recently touched on this endeavour when it named former Goldman Sachs director Swati Bhatia as its new head of retail banking and transformation last month.
Bhatia’s remit in this role includes leading “all related digital transformation initiatives” of the group’s wholly-owned US subsidiary, Santander Bank.
According to the group’s latest financial statements, its auto business, alongside PagoNxt and its corporate and investment banking, wealth management, and insurance businesses, accounted for 37% of its revenue and 42% of net fee income last year.
