Santander Sells Bulk of Polish Banking Business for $7.9 Billion

Santander is selling a majority of its Polish business to Austrian bank Erste Group.

The $7.9 billion deal, announced Monday (May 5) will also see the two lenders form a partnership that will see Santander give Erste access to its payment system.

“With payments, the banks will explore opportunities for Erste, including with Santander Polska post-completion, to leverage Santander’s payments capabilities and infrastructure, including Santander’s PagoNxt business,” the Spanish bank said in a news release.

Under the terms of the agreement, Santander will sell Erste approximately 49% of Santander Polska’s share capital and 50% of the Polish asset management business that Santander Polska does not own.

The lenders say they’re also forming a corporate and investment banking partnership that will “leverage each other’s regional strengths to offer local solutions and market insights for their respective corporate and institutional clients via a referral model that will facilitate seamless client interactions and service offerings.”

Meanwhile, Santander Executive Chair Ana Botín said last month that the bank sees an opportunity to help customers manage the volatility related to U.S. tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty.

“The recent announcements in the U.S. regarding tariffs reflect an escalation in trade tensions,” Botín said at Santander’s annual general meeting. “As a bank, our focus is on helping clients navigate the volatility, and we are committed to doing that.”

She added that the geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility seen in the first months of this year have contributed to a  five-year growth forecast for the world economy dropping to 3.1%,  its lowest level in 16 years.

Santander is navigating this environment by employing its global scale and diversification, which acts as a stabilizer, Botín said, adding that the bank anticipates it will continue to increase its profitability in 2025.

“While we are monitoring the implications of recent tariff announcements in the U.S., it is in challenging times when the value of our diversification is most apparent,” Botín said.

In other news from the intersection of banking and payments, PYMNTS wrote last week about the importance of banks offering real-time payments in attracting and keeping small and medium-sized business (SMB) clients.

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has shown that most SMBs would even pay fees to enjoy the advantages of instant payments.

“Even the most constrained companies would pay fees for the more efficient cash flows that result from real-time payments,” PYMNTS wrote, added that “88% of the smallest SMBs — those with annual revenues of less than $100,000 — would be willing to pay a percentage fee to receive instant payments.”