Santander UK has delayed the release of its third-quarter results at the last minute as it scrambles to review last week’s landmark court judgment into car finance misselling that some analysts say could cost the lender £1.1bn.
The bank was scheduled to release its latest quarterly earnings report on Tuesday morning, alongside those of its Spanish parent company, Banco Santander. The British arm, however, announced on Monday evening that it was withholding its report while it reviewed Friday’s court of appeal ruling into commission payments on car loans.
The judgment, which said it was unlawful for lenders to have paid a commission to car dealers without the borrowers’ knowledge, could influence an ongoing investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority and ultimately force lenders such as Santander to pay customers billions of pounds in compensation.
“It is not practicable to reliably estimate at this point in time the extent of any potential financial impact,” the bank said. “However, Santander UK Group Holdings plc is taking time to consider the judgment and the potential exposure it creates for the Santander UK Group.”
Analysts at RBC Capital believe it could end up costing Santander £1.1bn. “Our understanding is that the bank needs additional time to make a legal comment on this issue, alongside Q3 results, or risk being locked out of funding markets,” RBC’s equity analyst, Benjamin Toms, said.
Santander is one of three high-street banks that could be forced to pay up if the FCA decides to roll out a customer compensation scheme. Lloyds, which has the biggest exposure, has already put aside £450m for potential payouts, but some analysts suggest the figure could be as high as £1.5bn. Lloyds said on Monday that it “was assessing the potential impact of the decisions, as well as any broader implications”. The ruling may also end up costing Barclays £357m.
Santander said the court of appeal judgment, which ruled against the specialist lenders FirstRand and Close Brothers, set a high bar for disclosing commission arrangements and ensuring that customers can consent to a loan. It said it believed the ruling went beyond what was necessary under UK rules.
FirstRand and Close Brothers plan to appeal against the decision.
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“Santander UK Group Holdings plc disagrees with the conclusions reached by the court, and notes that, whilst the judgment may set a precedent for similar claims, both defendant firms have publicly announced they will appeal [against] the judgment to the UK supreme court,” the bank said.
Banco Santander’s Madrid-listed shares were down 2.1% on Tuesday afternoon, despite the wider group reporting a 12% rise in profits that grew to a record €3.3bn (£2.7bn) in the third quarter.