Santander owner sets AI savings target

Banco Santander, the Spanish owner of Santander UK, plans to cut costs by more than 500 million euros (£433 million) as it accelerates AI across its global operations. The bank is targeting more than one billion euros (£860 billion) in extra revenues and cost savings from AI by the end of 2028, with more than half expected to come from cost reductions through automation, productivity gains and simpler processes.

The lender did not disclose how many jobs could be affected, and it is understood no workforce reduction programme has been announced in connection with the rollout. Banco Santander expects more than 200 million euros (£173.4 million) in “business value” from AI across the group, including Santander UK, by the end of 2026, after recording 35 million euros (£30.3 million) of benefit in the first three months of the year.

The group is expanding AI access to all of its 185,000 staff worldwide, including around 15,000 in the UK, and said nearly 40,000 staff currently use the tools. In the UK, Santander is adding AI to voice channels for card-related queries, aiming for around 240,000 calls, or 40% of annual call volume, to be resolved through self-service, saving customers around 26,000 hours and giving service teams around 45,000 hours for more complex needs.