Santander Bank to lay off 53 in Conshohocken, ends home lending programs
Montgomery County branch hit hard by bank’s exit from residential mortgages and lending
Santander Bank will lay off 53 workers in its Conshohocken branch after the financial institution announced it would no longer originate residential mortgages and home equity lines of credit (HELOC).
According to a WARN notice filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, the layoffs are permanent and will take effect April 8.
On Feb. 2, Santander Bank revealed it would cease its mortgage and HELOC services, with the final deadline to submit applications on Feb. 11.
In an explainer posted to its website, Santander Bank stated the discontinuation of programs “allows us to focus our efforts and resources on products, services, and digital capabilities that let us better meet evolving consumer needs.”
“We will discontinue residential mortgage and home equity originations as we continue to focus on investing in products that have scale and that leverage our core strengths,” Santander Bank said in a statement Friday.
“This move will allow us to unlock capital to fuel our growth. We remain committed to our clients, small businesses and the communities we serve and are ensuring that our current clients and those in our pipeline are not impacted.”
Santander Bank also noted it will continue to service existing mortgages and HELOC without disruption or modification, in addition to processing any applications filed prior to the deadline.
The changes do not impact Santander Bank’s commercial mortgage business.
More layoffs to come?
Regarding the discontinuation of services, Santander Bank shared that it is looking to “simplify” its business after home mortgages and equity loans had “not achieved scale.”
The company — which was originally founded as Sovereign Bank in Wyomissing and is now headquartered in Boston — intends to reprioritize its resources to areas such as auto lending and segments of business and commercial banking, it said.
However, with these changes to its business model, Santander Bank acknowledges there will be more layoffs.
An estimated 4.5% of its workforce will be impacted, the bank revealed — though, for some, that could mean transitioning to another role in the company.
Santander Bank is also supporting its workers through severance benefits and career transition services, it said.
According to its website, Santander Bank’s entire North American workforce currently numbers around 9,000.
Santander Bank also highlighted its philanthropic efforts in its local communities, noting those commitments will not change.