The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approved the application for the bank merger on Friday (June 12), Webster Bank holding company Webster Financial said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the Federal Reserve Board and the European Central Bank, according to the filing.
In a Feb. 3 announcement of its plan to acquire Webster Bank, Santander said the $12.2 billion deal would create a combined business that would be a top 10 retail and commercial bank in the United States by assets and a top five deposit franchise across key states in the Northeast.
For customers, the combined business would offer access to a broader branch and service footprint, enhanced digital and mobile banking capabilities, expanded product offerings and local relationship-based service backed by one of the world’s largest banking groups, Santander said in the announcement.
Santander said it expected the transaction to close in the second half, subject to customary closing conditions.
In Webster Financial’s own Feb. 3 announcement of the deal, Chairman and CEO John R. Ciulla said that the transaction would create an even stronger partner for Webster Bank’s clients.
About three months later, in an April 28 earnings release for the quarter ended March 31, Ciulla said the Webster Financial was making “significant progress” toward the merger.
“Our proposed transaction with Banco Santander will enhance our ability to support our clients and the communities we serve, while unlocking new opportunities for growth,” Ciulla said in the release. “We are making significant progress planning for the integration of two highly complementary banking organizations.”
Santander said in a March 27 press release that shareholders at its annual general meeting approved a capital increase required for the acquisition, “enabling the transaction to move forward and effectively completing the key corporate step on Santander’s side.”
Santander Executive Chair Ana Botín said in the release: “The combination of Santander’s leadership in consumer finance with Webster’s commercial franchise and its high-quality deposit base positions us as a well-diversified regional bank and will enable us to capture new growth opportunities and generate synergies.”
