Growing our business and simplifying our product portfolio
Santander in the Nordics, one of the leading auto financing and consumer lending banks, announces new strategic priorities and simplification of its portfolio.
o We have determined to focus on our core business and have entered into an agreement with Avida Finans AB to sell our Norwegian and Swedish cards-based businesses and exit our Danish direct credit cards business.
o Continue developing our remaining consumer business across the Nordics.
o Being the Nordic market leader in auto finance, new mobility-solutions and full-service leasing representing exciting growth opportunities and will be a key priority.
- We always strive to offer our customers the best and most relevant products and, continuously review our portfolio of product offerings to enable us to deliver on our ambitions as a responsible and reliable bank, says Michael Hvidsten, CEO in Santander in the Nordics.
Simplifying our portfolio
As we plan for growth within our core business segments, we are prioritizing our resources and therefore making changes to our existing portfolio. This means we will exit from all our direct and indirect credit cards business.
The sale to Avida Finans AB will include our cards-based checkout lending and direct credit cards businesses in Norway and Sweden, including customer accounts/balances and the merchant agreement with Elkjøp/Elgiganten.
The transaction will take effect from 31st December 2024 (subject to regulatory approvals), and we will keep customers fully updated on the changes to ensure a smooth transfer.
Avida Finans AB has a strategic ambition to launch its own credit card operations and we believe this sale will be a good fit, enabling both the ambitions of Avida Finans AB and Santander in the Nordics.
- This is a new, exciting step on Avida's journey. With the support of our owners, we have in recent years developed an ambitious strategy and invested heavily in technological development and our services. We are now expanding our customer offering to also include one of the market's leading businesses in credit cards and sales financing. This means that we will substantially increase our reach and size. We also look forward to welcoming all new customers and the group of highly skilled new colleagues joining the Avida family, says Tine Wollebekk, CEO of Avida.
In addition, Santander will exit our Danish direct credit cards business in the second half of 2024 and convert the balances to consumer loans.
This change will enable us to re-allocate our focus, people, and financial resources to our strategic growth opportunities. We believe this is the right direction for our Nordic operations in the times ahead. It is important to note that these businesses represent 3,5% of the Bank’s lending.
Focusing on new growth opportunities
Santander is the Nordic market leader in auto finance. This market represents approximately 85 percent of the Banks outstanding loans, and we see several growth opportunities in the future.
Santander Consumer Finance has set out to become a complete provider of auto leasing products in all channels and is establishing a full-service leasing business organization. To further expand the leading presence in its respective markets, Santander Consumer Finance (SCF) recently acquired the fleet company, Athlon Sweden with a portfolio of 5.200 cars and vans.
The synergy opportunities from leveraging Santander purchasing power and dealer and OEM networks, creates a positive environment for selective growth for SCF in the Nordics. With an expanded product suite, SCF will be able to provide a wider range of mobility services to customers and partners.
We will continue developing our remaining consumer business across the Nordics.
Contact information:
Eskil Pedersen, Nordic Communications Director