Webster Bank operates this branch at 244 Post Road E., in Westport, Conn. The parent company of Webster has announced an agreement to be acquired for $12.2 billion by Banco Santander.
File photo
John Ciulla, CEO and chairman of Webster Financial Corp., the parent company of Webster Bank, speaks during the CBIA Economic + Outlook on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Hartford, Conn.
Jim Michaud/Hearst Connecticut Media
Webster Financial Corp., the holding company for Stamford-based Webster Bank, announced Tuesday an agreement to be acquired for $12.2 billion by Banco Santander, one of the largest banks in the world.
Webster will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Santander, according to the terms of the companies’ definitive agreement — a deal that will transform Santander into a “top-10 retail and commercial bank in the U.S.,” by assets, company officials said. Santander will gain the largest bank headquartered in Connecticut, based on deposits, with an in-state total of about $40.4 billion as of last June.
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“This acquisition is a significant step forward in strengthening our commercial banking presence and filling in our retail branch footprint and scale, particularly in Connecticut where we are committed to maintaining a broad branch presence,” Christiana Riley, CEO of Santander US, said in a written statement. “The acquisition meaningfully expands our commercial franchise, resulting in a more balanced business mix and positioning us for sustainable, long-term growth.”
Riley added: “Equally important, we are bringing aboard a talented leadership team with a strong track record in building a high-quality bank, and we are excited about the value we can create together for our customers and communities. Webster’s existing headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, will be a core corporate office for Santander, alongside our corporate offices in Boston, New York, Miami and Dallas.”
After the transaction is completed, Riley will remain Santander’s country head in the U.S., and the CEO of Santander Holdings USA (SHUSA). John Ciulla, Webster’s CEO and chairman, will become the CEO of Santander Bank NA (SBNA), into which Webster’s businesses will be integrated. Luis Massiani, Webster’s president and chief operating officer, will become the chief operating officer of SHUSA and SBNA, lead the integration and report to Riley and Ciulla.
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“This is an exciting combination that brings together complementary strengths and a shared commitment to excellence,” Ciulla said in a written statement. “As a larger organization, we will unlock greater scale, broader capabilities and new opportunities for growth — while remaining deeply focused on the people who define our success. I look forward to joining the Santander team and enhancing our ability to support clients across our expanded footprint. As a Connecticut-based bank with deep roots in the state, we also look forward to continuing our commitment to the communities we serve in the region.”
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second half of this year. Until then, Santander and Webster will continue operating as separate companies, with no changes to customer accounts, branch access or day-to-day service at either bank, according to Santander and Webster officials.
In an apparent coincidence, the deal between Santander and Webster has been announced almost exactly four years after Webster completed a merger worth $10 billion with Pearl River, New York-based Sterling National Bank. As a result of the merger, Webster moved its headquarters from Waterbury to Stamford, while keeping its offices in Waterbury.
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Webster operates 95 branches across Connecticut. It has a total of more than 200 branches, when factoring in its locations in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.
Among banks operating in Connecticut, Webster’s approximately $40.4 billion in in-state deposits last June were surpassed only by Bank of America’s total of about $40.8 billion, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Santander’s in-state deposits last June totaled about $1.9 billion, ranking 13th.
Last April, Santander closed its branch in New Haven, marking the bank’s ninth branch shutdown in Connecticut since 2020.
Today, there are 13 Santander branches in Connecticut — two in West Hartford, as well as one each in Avon, Bristol, East Hartford, Enfield, Glastonbury, Hartford, Newington, South Windsor, Southington, Waterbury and Wethersfield.
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There is a much larger Santander presence in neighboring states. In Massachusetts, Santander has 127 locations and ranks fourth in in-state deposits. In New York state, it has 61 locations and places 23rd in in-state deposits. In Rhode Island, it has 20 locations and ranks fourth in-state deposits.
Worldwide, the reach of the Spain-headquartered Santander is immense. On its website, it states that it is one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization, with stock-exchange listings in the U.S., Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom and Poland. It operates with more than 204,000 employees, and it serves 176 million customers with more than 8,000 branches and online channels.
In the fourth quarter of last year, Santander produced net interest income of about $12.8 billion. The total equated to about 20 times Webster’s fourth-quarter net interest income of approximately $633 million.
The U.S. has been one of the largest “value creators” for Santander, company officials said in a news release about the deal with Webster. They cited average annual profit-after-tax growth of 31% in the U.S., during the past three years, with all “Investor Day targets achieved.” After the acquisition is completed, Santander will have a combined U.S. balance sheet of approximately $327 billion in assets, $185 billion in loans and $172 billion in deposits, based on data from the end of last year, company officials added.
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Investors appeared optimistic about the deal, as Webster’s shares closed Tuesday at about $72, up 9% from their closing total on Monday.
Webster employees, including the bank’s contingent of about 1,800 in Connecticut, might be feeling more anxious, given that acquisitions often lead to layoffs. For instance, M&T Bank’s $8.3 billion acquisition of Bridgeport-based People’s United Bank in 2022 resulted in several hundred job cuts in Connecticut. Today, M&T is hiring many people to support its growth in Connecticut, with an in-state head count of more than 2,000, according to company officials.
Spokespersons for Santander and Webster did not immediately respond Tuesday to inquiries about whether the acquisition might result in layoffs at Webster.
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