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Santander UK has committed to halting further branch closures across its network and recently acquired TSB branches until 2028, a pledge that arrives despite ongoing cost-cutting measures and follows a significant round of closures earlier this year.

Mahesh Aditya, the bank’s new chief, declared branches an “important part of our strategy” as he unveiled the commitment.

This will see 305 Santander and 175 TSB branches maintained across the UK for at least another 18 months.

However, this promise comes after the Spanish-owned bank announced plans at the start of the year to axe 44 sites, putting 291 jobs at risk.

The lending giant is also continuing to reduce costs across its operations, increasing its use of artificial intelligence and automation. It targets at least £400 million in savings by the end of 2028, following the £2.65 billion TSB acquisition completed in May.

Mr Aditya, who took over from former chief executive Mike Regnier on 1 March, said: “As we integrate TSB with Santander UK, our ambition for customers is to combine leading digital services with the personal support they value, helping us to create the best bank for customers in the UK.

“I see branches as an important part of our strategy and do not intend to close any additional Santander or TSB branches before 2028 at the earliest, alongside our continued commitment to invest in modernising our network and to introduce new Work Cafes.”

The pledge came in half-year results showing profits slumped by almost a third after its near-£180 million hit in the first quarter for the motor finance scandal, and due to higher bad debt and restructuring charges.

The high street lending giant – which is owned by Banco Santander – reported a 31 per cent fall in pre-tax profits to £528 million for the six months to 30 June.

This followed an extra £179 million set aside in the first three months of the year to cover costs of the motor finance mis-selling saga, where millions of deals were sold with hidden commission from a range of UK lenders.

Santander also saw restructuring costs rise as it continued to make savings across the business, with the group warning over further cuts to come in 2026 “driven by simplification and automation of our business, and integration of TSB”.

The Spanish-owned bank said bad debt charges rose by £173 million due to a worsening economic outlook in 2026 amid the Iran war fallout and following its acquisition of TSB, which added an extra £62 million of credit impairment onto its books.

Santander also revealed it had reached out to 146,000 customers it expects to be severely impacted by soaring energy costs as the Iran war puts family finances under pressure.