The Spanish banking giant is accelerating its U.S. growth plans with the pending acquisition of Webster Financial in Connecticut. The combined entity will be the second-largest foreign-owned bank operating in the country.

The Spanish banking giant, which has been trying to grow its U.S. business, plans to acquire the Connecticut-based parent company of Webster Bank.

The Spanish bank says it can connect small and medium-size U.S. businesses with local market experts on its newly launched digital platform Navigator Global.

The head of Santander's stateside operations built a career in banking by finding ways to "yes" to opportunities, even if they didn't seem like "the perfect fit," she said.

Starting Tuesday, the Spanish bank is allowing retail clients in Germany to trade Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Polygon and Cardano. Openbank will expand the number of available tokens over the coming months. 

The all-cash transaction will make the enlarged company the U.K.'s third-largest lender by some measures.

The pending sale of the branches in eastern Pennsylvania to a central New York-based bank comes amid Santander's planned closure of 18 branches this summer and its continued focus on building out a national digital bank.

While other European-based banks have retreated from the United States, Santander is doubling down by building out its nationwide digital-banking platform. "Unequivocally," said U.S. CEO Christiana Riley, "the opportunity … is so clear."

The banking arm of Spanish giant Banco Santander plans to close about 4.5% of its branch network in the United States, according to regulatory filings.

The U.S. arm of Spanish banking giant Banco Santander is offering a high-yield savings account through its digital bank, Openbank, to eligible Verizon customers, a move that will introduce Santander to millions of potential new customers.

Christiana Riley, regional head of Banco Santander's North America region, has succeeded Tim Wennes as CEO of Santander U.S.

Openbank, which has operated in parts of Europe for years, should help the Spanish bank to fund its U.S. auto lending business, executives said.

The Spanish bank recorded its best efficiency ratio in 15 years, Chairwoman Ana Botin said in its quarterly earnings statement.

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The U.S. arm of Spanish banking giant Santander has hired Swati Bhatia to oversee retail banking and its digital transformation efforts. Bhatia joins at "an inflection point" for the company, which aims to be "a digital bank with branches," CEO Tim Wennes said.

With tougher capital requirements looming, a number of regionals including U.S. Bancorp, Huntington and Santander are using these new instruments to share risk with nonbank investors and lighten their capital load. Experts point out the pros and cons.

Worldline and Google partner team up for cloud computing; Global Payments works with Commerz in Germany.