Banco Santander announced plans to merge Openbank and Santander Consumer Finance (SCF) into a single legal entity, operating its European consumer finance businesses under the Openbank brand.
The integration will begin in Germany, with other markets to follow.
Both Openbank and SCF sit within Santander’s Digital Consumer Bank (DCB) global business.
The merger aims to simplify operations, enhance customer offerings, and strengthen partnerships with auto manufacturers, dealers, and merchants across Europe.
Openbank, Santander’s digital-first banking brand, will carry the endorsement “by Santander” to reflect its connection to the wider group.
The bank currently operates in Spain, Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands, and has recently launched in the US and Mexico.
SCF is Europe’s largest auto finance provider by loan volume, operating in 18 countries with a portfolio exceeding €140 billion. Together, the two serve around 16,000 new customers daily.
The combined business will provide customers with a unified digital platform for banking, lending, and payment services.
Openbank’s existing services include an automated investment platform, a broker service offering AI-driven insights for European and US stocks, and a recently introduced crypto trading feature.
“Bringing together Openbank and Santander Consumer Finance is an important step in our transformation to build the best open financial services platform,”
said Nitin Prabhu, Global Head of Santander’s Digital Consumer Bank.
“This combination will strengthen our position in key markets like Germany and across Europe, enabling us to offer customers a broader range of products and a seamless digital and in-branch experience.”
The group will first merge the Spanish legal entities of Openbank and SCF, pending regulatory approval, before consolidating operations in Germany.
The rebranding will then be rolled out gradually across other European markets.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by rawpixel.com via Freepik
