Santander boss breaks silence over fears banking giant will quit Britain at millionaires’ summit in Davos

Santander's boss has broken her silence over fears the banking giant could leave Britain due to 'excessive red tape'.

There were murmurs that the Spanish banking giant wanted to leave after two decades of frustration with rules introduced after the 2008 financial crisis.

But executive chairman Ana Botín dismissed those fears when she spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, insisting: “We love Britain.”

During a panel discussion on growth at the top of the millionaires, Ms. Botín suggested that the rumors had been spread by investment bankers.

The Financial Times reported last week that a former Santander executive said it was “always possible” that Ms Botín would sell because of banking rules that had led to lower returns.

After the crisis, major banks had to separate their retail banking from riskier investments and international activities, which the banking giant says has led to lower returns than in other markets such as Spain.

Insiders say managers are looking to shift their focus to growth regions such as the US after share prices fell by a third in just over a decade.

But Ms Botín reaffirmed the bank's commitment to the UK high street in comments to The Express, saying it was 'a core market and will remain a core market for Santander'.

Santander's executive chairman Ana Botín (pictured in January 2019) has dismissed fears that the banking giant is looking to leave Britain

There were murmurs that the Spanish banking giant wanted to leave after two decades of frustration with rules introduced after the 2008 financial crisis.

'Punto [Spanish for full stop]she said. 'Britain has enormous opportunities. Why? Because it can go faster. Britain does not now have to agree with 27 countries.

“You know the army of investment bankers who want to get paid? So when they start, these types of people are going to look at mergers and acquisitions [mergers and acquisitions]they start looking around. It certainly doesn't come from us.'

However, Ms Botín warned that Europe risked becoming a “museum” due to the continent's inability to develop deep capital markets, according to The Times.

However, she could not hide her frustration with the current regulations, which she said are “limiting growth” in the banking market.

A Santander spokesperson echoed Ms Botín's words, telling the Express that it “remains focused on delivering excellent products and services to our 14 million customers in Britain.”

'The UK is a core market for Santander, and this has not changed.'

There are around 14 million Santander customers who could be affected if the alleged schemes go ahead, in addition to around 20,000 employees across 444 branches across the UK. It also holds around £200bn of customer loans.

It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves told UK regulator bosses to revive the UK economy by 'tearing down the regulatory barriers holding back growth'.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves told UK regulators bosses to revive the UK economy (pictured in the House of Commons on January 14)

Last year, Ms Reeves vowed to cut red tape for the City of London after claiming regulations had “gone too far” following the 2008 financial crisis.

Meanwhile, more than 100 banks are set to close this year in another blow to Britain's high streets.

Lloyds Bank has 51 branches set to close this year, while Halifax will close the doors to 46 of its stores.

Seven TSB branches will close, while sixteen Bank of Scotland branches will also disappear.

The closures began this month and will last through September.

Banks and building societies have closed 6,214 branches since January 2005, according to Which? data – the equivalent of 53 per month.