Banco Santander executive to take top job at UK bank ahead of TSB merger

High street lending giant Santander has appointed an executive at its Spanish owner to take the helm of the UK business ahead of its merger with smaller rival TSB.

Mahesh Aditya, who is currently group chief risk officer at Banco Santander, will become chief executive of the UK bank on March 1, replacing outgoing boss Mike Regnier.

Santander – which on Thursday revealed another 44 UK branch closures – announced in October that Mr Regnier planned to step down after four years as it prepares to integrate TSB after agreeing a £2.65 billion deal in July to acquire its smaller UK rival.

The group is expected to complete the TSB takeover later this quarter.

Santander chairman Tom Scholar said Mr Aditya had “wide industry experience and deep knowledge of the Santander Group”.

He said: “He is ideally placed to lead Santander UK through the next phase of our transformation and oversee a successful acquisition and integration of TSB.

“This will be critical to our ambition to be the best bank for customers in the UK.”

Mr Aditya said he was joining Santander UK at an “important time” for the lender.“The acquisition of TSB will both accelerate our transformation and add to the considerable inward investment group has made in the UK since it entered the market in 2004,” he said.

“It will enhance our offer to customers, enable us to grow and become a more competitive business creating genuine value for our investors.”

Mr Aditya has been group chief risk officer at Banco Santander since 2023, having previously spent six years at Santander’s US arm.

Prior to joining Santander, he worked at firms including Citi, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Capital One.

He was appointed to the Santander UK board on October 1.

The announcement of his promotion comes after Santander announced the latest tranche of branch closures earlier this week, putting 291 jobs at risk.

The move will leave it with 244 full branches, although it will take on more branches through the TSB deal.

TSB has around 175 branches across the UK and employs more than 5,000 people.