- Key insight: Santander U.S. and Webster Financial have appointed leaders to run their combined businesses, as they await regulatory approval of their proposed merger.
- What's at stake: The appointments show the two banks are continuing to move forward with their merger plans despite friction between the U.S. and Spanish governments.
- Forward look: The proposed $12.3 billion deal, which was announced in February, requires shareholder approval as well as green lights from both U.S. and European regulators.
Ahead of their planned merger later this year, Santander U.S. and Webster Financial are laying the groundwork of the proposed combined bank by naming leaders of specific business lines.
Processing Content
The post-acquisition heads of those businesses are a mix of current Santander U.S. executives and existing Webster leaders, according to separate updates to employees from both banks. In addition, the transition will result in the exit of two high-ranking Santander executives.
The appointments mark the next step in Banco Santander's pending acquisition of Webster, Webster's memo said. The Spanish banking giant announced in February that it planned to boost its U.S. operations by acquiring Stamford, Connecticut-based Webster for $12.3 billion.
Last month, questions arose from at least one bank analyst about whether the Santander-Webster tie-up deal would face unexpected challenges following President Trump's threat to halt trade with Spain. To date, a trade embargo has not been established.
If approved by U.S. and European regulators, Santander would become the 13th largest bank in the U.S., with a combined $327 billion in assets. It will improve scale and profitability in the U.S., in part by acquiring Webster's stream of steady, low-cost deposits and in part by pulling in more fees from corporate and investment banking, Banco Santander has said.
"We're taking an important step forward in our integration by announcing our business line leadership appointments, effective once the transaction closes," Webster's note said. "The combination of Santander and Webster represents a unique opportunity to build a stronger, more competitive franchise in the U.S., and we are already laying the groundwork to realize that potential."
The memos to employees are the first integration-related updates for the pending transaction, which is expected to close during the third quarter of this year. Part of the work involves figuring out who's running which businesses and how those businesses will fold into the larger bank.
The two banks have previously said that John Ciulla, Webster's chairman and CEO, will become CEO of Santander Bank N.A. Luis Massiani, Webster's president and chief operating officer, is set to become chief operating officer of Santander Bank N.A. and Santander Holdings USA.
Post-deal, Webster's trio of core businesses — commercial banking, consumer banking and health-care financial services — will be moved into Banco Santander's global retail and commercial unit, the memos said. Chris Motl, president of commercial banking at Webster and a member of the bank's executive committee, will lead the combined commercial banking unit.
Motl joined Webster in 2004 and oversees all of Webster's commercial-banking businesses, including commercial real estate, middle-market banking, sponsor and specialty finance, treasury management and private banking, according to his biography on Webster's website.
Jason Mock, head of retail distribution at Santander U.S., will assume the role of head of retail banking. Mock joined Santander U.S. last year from Wells Fargo and currently serves as the bank's head of retail distribution and investments, according to a press release about his hiring.
As part of the changes, Michael Lee, who has been head of Santander U.S. commercial banking, will retire from the bank, Santander said in its note. Lee joined Santander in 2009 when it acquired Sovereign Bank in Philadelphia, according to his biography of Santander's website.
Lee will end his day-to-day management responsibilities on June 30, but will continue to represent Santander on trade associations through the end of 2026, according to the note.
James Griffin, head of consumer banking at Webster, will support Mock in a role leading Santander U.S.'s national retail distribution and consumer lending, the memos said. Griffin will oversee the more than 500 branches that Santander U.S. will operate in the Northeast.
Three Santander U.S. executives will retain their current roles following the acquisition, the notes said. David Hermer, head of corporate and investment banking since 2023, and Luis Bermudez, the bank's head of private banking/Banco Santander International, will both stay in their respective jobs, as will David McClelland, Santander's current head of auto finance.
Drew Burchard, head of products and platforms at Santander U.S. since 2024, will become head of digital banking, a role that will oversee Openbank, Santander's national digital bank.
Burchard will be in charge of "future digital offerings expected in 2027 and beyond," the memo said. Santander U.S. declined Tuesday to offer details about what products Openbank plans to introduce. The platform, which launched in 2024, currently offers a high-yield savings account.
As part of the leadership changes, Swati Bhatia, head of Openbank and Santander U.S.'s retail bank since 2024, will leave the bank on June 30, Santander said in its update. Bhatia, the one-time head of Goldman Sachs' now-defunct digital bank Marcus, led Openbank's launch.
In Santander U.S.'s memo, Christiana Riley, Santander's U.S. country head, praised Bhatia for making "a significant and lasting impact" on the bank's U.S. platform, including "building one of the fastest-growing digital banking platforms in the country." Openbank had $6 billion of deposits in its first year, Riley said.
The head of Webster's subsidiary, HSA Bank, Chad Wilkins, will be appointed head of health care financial services at Santander U.S. Webster's HSA Bank serves the health savings account market and held nearly $9.2 billion of deposits at the end of December, more than half of Webster's total health care financial services-related deposits, the bank said in January.
Andrea Mills, who runs Ametros, the Webster subsidiary that serves as a custodian and administrator of medical funds from insurance claim settlements, will continue to run that division and report to Wilkins, the note said.
Ametros held about $1.2 billion of deposits as of Dec. 31, the bank reported in January.
