Spanish owned high Street lender Santander
Edgard Garrido/Reuters

Ana Botin, executive chair of Spanish bank Santander has denied reports that the company is considering leaving the British market as a result of low returns and excessive regulation.

Earlier this week, the Financial Times, quoting unnamed former executives, reported that Santander UK was viewed with frustration by its parent group because of a high cost base, an independent board and lower interest rates in the country.

Britain's insistence on 'ringfencing' banking operations was also reportedly an issue. Ring-fencing was introduced to the British bank system in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Ring-fencing rules require the separation of retail banking from other banking activities.

The rules came in to ensure that ordinary consumers would not longer be at risk from having their savings wiped out because investment bankers took a risk too far.

'We Love The UK'

Botin, however, has dismissed the rumours. Speaking at Davos, the Spanish executive declared 'We love the UK'. The Express reports that Botin described Britain as one of Santander's core markets and that this would not change.

Botin also claimed that the rumours that Santander was considering leaving the United Kingdom were possibly spread by investment bankers.

'You know the army of investment bankers that wants to get fees? So if they start, these kind of people start looking at M&A [mergers and acquisitions], they start looking around. It's definitely not coming from us.'

Botin also apparently praised the potential benefits of Brexit, saying, 'The UK has a huge opportunity. Why? Because it can move faster. The UK does not have to agree with 27 countries now.'

Despite reaffirming Santander's commitment to the British market, Botin was not without concerns about the regulatory environment. She claimed that growth in the banking industry is being limited by current regulations and, according to the Times, warned that Europe was in danger of becoming a 'museum', due to it's failure to develop deep capital markets.

Ana Botin, 15th Most Powerful Woman In The World

Ana Botin is the fourth generation of the Botin family to hold her executive chair position at Santander and she was previously the CEO of Santander UK. Last year she was named the 15th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes, coming between Emma Walmsley, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline and Safra Catz, the CEO of Oracle.

Santander has around 14 million customers in Great Britain and employs approximately 20,000 people. The bank made its mark on the British scene with the acquisition of Abbey National in 2004, but it's reach increased during the financial crisis a few years later when it bought out casualties of the crash, such as Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester.

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