Banco Santander Completes Webster Bank Deal

Banco Santander closed its acquisition of Webster Financial Corporation Aug. 19, finalizing a $12.3 billion deal that creates one of the country’s largest regional lenders.

The transaction, first announced in February, cleared its final regulatory hurdle earlier this month when the Federal Reserve granted approval, following earlier sign-offs from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Connecticut Department of Banking, and the European Central Bank.

The merger preserves leadership continuity, with Christiana Riley remaining as chief executive of Santander Holdings USA and the group’s U.S. country head, while Webster’s John Ciulla becomes CEO of the newly combined Santander Bank, N.A.

Luis Massiani, previously Webster’s president and chief operating officer, will serve as COO of both entities, overseeing integration and reporting to both Riley and Ciulla.

Ciulla and Massiani will remain based at Webster’s existing headquarters in Stamford, which becomes a core corporate office for Santander alongside its other U.S. sites.

Complementary Strengths

The deal vaults Santander Holdings USA to roughly the 19th-largest bank in the country by assets, with a combined balance sheet of approximately $253.6 billion.

It also makes Santander the top deposit holder in Connecticut, with an estimated $42.3 billion, while ranking fourth in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and 11th in New York.

Executives have framed the deal as pairing complementary strengths: Santander’s consumer finance scale with Webster’s commercial banking franchise and deposit base.

“This combination allows us to further deepen our local relationships.”

Santander Bank’s John Ciulla

Ciulla said the combination of Santander and Webster “marks the beginning of an exciting next chapter for our customers and communities.”

“This combination allows us to further deepen our local relationships with the support of Santander’s global scale,” he said.

“On Monday, everybody who goes into their branch, any client is going to see the same branch and the same people involved.”