Banco Santander has announced the integration of Openbank and Santander Consumer Finance in Europe in a sole legal entity, with the purpose of operating consumer financing under the banner Openbank. The movement, framed in your business Digital Consumer Bank, seeks to simplify structures, gain agility, and strengthen the value proposition to customers and partners.
The group's benchmark digital brand, Openbank, will be rolled out progressively in European markets and will maintain the distinctive “by Santander”. According to the entity, the union will facilitate a wider product catalog and a consistent experience, supported by a common technological platform and simpler processes for users and collaborators.
A single entity and a common brand
The plan provides for the creation of a single legal entity in Europe —planned as Open Bank SA— which will concentrate the group's consumer business in the region. All commercial activity will be organized under the Openbank brand, which will act as an umbrella for everyday banking, financing, payments, and investment, with the banking group's seal of trust.
The process starts with the merger of legal entities in Spain, subject to regulatory authorizations, and the operational consolidation in Germany. Germany will be the first market to integrate at a commercial level, and the implementation will continue later, in a phased manner, in the rest of the European countries where the consumer business operates.
Calendar and geographical scope
The transition will begin in Spain and Germany to then spread to places like Italy, Austria, France, Portugal, Poland or the Netherlands. In Europe, Santander Consumer Finance has a presence in 18 countries, allowing the bank to deploy the Openbank brand with unprecedented pan-European reach within the group.
With this change, the bank will gradually retire the “Consumer” brand in Europe and will give prominence to Openbank, a brand with strong digital traction and high recommendation rates (NPS) in its core markets. The goal is to achieve a unique identity that facilitates recognition and avoids duplication.
What's changing for customers and partners
Users of both franchises will benefit from a single access to banking, financing and services payment, with more agile processes and a consistent experience across all channels. Technological integration will allow simplify procedures, improve response times and unify operations under common standards.
The network of Business partners —automotive manufacturers, dealers and retailers—will work with a unified platform, which will facilitate more competitive offers and faster financing solutions at the point of sale. The group intends to strengthen its B2B2C offering with digital tools and global agreements.
The joint dimension of the business is relevant: SCF exceeds 140.000 billion euros in credit volume and, between both brands, They serve around 16.000 new customers a day in EuropeThis size of the customer base and operations will facilitate capturing synergies and gaining efficiency.
Openbank capabilities and product news
Openbank already offers, in different markets, a Robot Advisors automated investment and a broker with AI-based tools that estimate target prices for European and American securities. In addition, the entity has incorporated buying and selling cryptocurrencies to complete the investment ecosystem.
At present, Openbank operates in Spain, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands. and has begun its international expansion in United States and MexicoThis transatlantic expansion will continue, while the The announced integration is limited to Europe, leaving out the consumer division in America.
Organization, employment and physical network
Internally, the company will coordinate teams of Santander Consumer (approx. 11.500 employees) y Openbank (156 employees) under a common management. The entity has indicated that no staff adjustments are planned nor changes in working conditions due to the merger.
As for the network, Consumer has 266 offices in Europe (43 in Spain) which, mostly oriented towards partners, will adopt the Openbank brand. The change could lead to a more hybrid model, combining physical proximity at key points with the power of digital channels.
DCB governance, leadership, and figures
At the top, governance remains stable with Ana Botin as president and Javier Monzon y Sebastian Gunningham as vice presidents. In executive management, they stand out Victoria Roig at the head of Consumer Finance and Petri Nikkila as CEO of Openbank, who also leads Santander Germany, reflecting the integrated vision of the business.
Unit Digital Consumer Bank contributes close to 14% of the group's result and recorded 1.043 million euros of profit in the first half of 2025. With the integration, the bank aims to reduce regulatory and administrative costs, eliminate overlaps and accelerate their digital transformation to compete with new fintechs.
Next steps
The process will begin with the legal merger in Spain and operational convergence in Germany, both subject to authorization, to then roll out the Openbank brand throughout the rest of Europe. The bank will continue to promote agreements with strategic partners—such as Apple, Amazon or Vodafone—, key in the recent development of the joint business in various European countries.
The turn towards a single entity and a common platform In Europe, it aims to organize the group's consumer business, improve the customer experience, and strengthen Openbank's technological and commercial muscle. If the timeline is met and the integration progresses smoothly, the new structure will allow Santander to compete with greater efficiency and brand consistency across all its European markets.
