Banco Santander has concluded the sale of a 49% holding in its Polish subsidiary, Santander Bank Polska, to Austria’s Erste Group. 

The deal also includes the transfer of a 50% interest in Santander Bank Polska’s asset management business (TFI). 

The total deal value stands at around €7bn ($8.2bn). 

The agreement, first made public in May 2025, leads to a net capital gain of roughly €1.9bn for Santander and is expected to increase the group’s CET1 ratio by about 95 basis points, or an estimated €6bn.  

Santander intends to allocate around half of the proceeds towards advancing its shareholder buyback programme, subject to regulatory clearance. 

Upon completion of the deal, Erste emerges as the main shareholder in Santander Bank Polska.  

The Austrian lender intends to rebrand Santander Bank Polska as Erste Bank Polska during the second quarter of 2026. 

Santander’s remaining interest in its Polish banking business is now reduced to 9.7% after this transaction and an accelerated placement in December last year.  

In a separate development, Santander has become the full owner of Santander Consumer Bank in Poland after acquiring the outstanding 60% stake.  

The group confirmed it will continue operating in Poland within the consumer finance sector. 

For Erste Group, the acquisition is projected to improve financial returns, with expectations of achieving a return on tangible equity of approximately 19% and a rise in earnings per share exceeding 20% by 2026. 

Additionally, both banks have launched a partnership focused on Corporate & Investment Banking.  

It will operate under a model that involves referring clients between the two banks and collaborating on specific products. 

Under this arrangement, Santander will facilitate access for Erste’s clients to its international offering across multiple regions, while Erste will provide insights and reach within Central and Eastern Europe. 

The alliance also includes possible collaboration through PagoNxt, Santander’s global payments platform, beginning with work on cloud-based payments infrastructure in Poland. 

Santander has indicated that redeploying capital from this sale should have a positive effect on earnings per share during 2027 and 2028.  

The increased flexibility from this transaction is also expected to assist with other planned initiatives within the group, including the proposed acquisition of TSB in the UK, still awaiting approval from relevant authorities. 

Banco Santander executive chair Ana Botín said: “Santander and Erste will continue to work closely together through a strategic partnership, leveraging our complementary strengths to better serve clients across our respective markets.  

“While we will miss our colleagues in Poland, we are confident that Erste is the right owner for the business as we reallocate capital towards markets with the greatest connectivity to leverage the strength of the group and support sustainable growth and increased returns.” 

Erste Group CEO Peter Bosek commented: “We are pleased that through our cooperation with Banco Santander, our clients will continue to benefit from Santander’s global franchise while gaining access to Erste Group’s deep expertise and robust networks across Central European markets.”