Banco Santander S.A. is seeking to expand in the United States through a partnership with Verizon Communications, with the Spanish banking giant tapping into Verizon's customer base, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The two companies have reached a deal that will allow some of Verizon's customers to earn bill credits "if they open a high-yield savings account with Santander's new digital bank platform and meet certain balance thresholds." Santander will also look into other partnerships in its effort to become a full-service digital bank in the US, said Ana Botin, the bank's executive chair, in an interview with the outlet.
Botin portrayed the Verizon partnership as a "major step forward for our strategy in the US." A lighter regulatory touch under US President Donald Trump should boost growth in the US down the road, Botin told the outlet. She noted that uncertainty around trade tensions hasn't influenced the bank's plans and said that she expects it to settle.
