Banco Santander SA (NYSE:STD) has been carving up the shores of South America and Europe over the last decade, and now the Spanish bank sees its new world as the U.S.
"You will see us buying more business units in the United States in the years ahead," Alfredo Saenz told a conference attended by New York University Stern School of Business students and alumni in Barcelona on Friday.
Already acquiring, 75.68% in Pennsylvania-based Sovereign Bancorp for approximately €1.4 billion ($1.9 billion), Santander is looking specifically in Sovereign's core markets of Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania for a deal.
So, what's out there for Santander to pick up? With valuations low, some East Coast banks are looking for a deal. Here's a few that may be of interest to Santander:
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M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE:MTB) is a Buffalo, N.Y.-based bank and recently acquired Provident Bankshares Corp. of New Jersey for $401 million in December. M&T has over $65 billion in assets with almost 700 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware.
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PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC), located in Pittsburgh, has a market cap of $18.11 billion. Its America's fifth-largest bank by deposits with locations in eight states that include Pennsylvania.
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Citizens Financial Group has assets of $160 billion and is headquartered in Providence, R.I. The bank is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland plc (NYSE:RBS), which is now 68% owned by the U.K. government. The parent's troubles from the global credit crisis may make it more willing to accept a deal to raise needed cash. Additionally, Citizens has leading market positions in both Massachusetts and Pennsylvania as well as subsidiaries in South America, making it extremely complementary to Santander and Sovereign.
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Gerald Magpily
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