Finance
Trump's row with spain could stall Santander-Webster deal, analyst says
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 3, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 3, 2026
Quick Summary
President Trump’s threat on March 3, 2026 to cut off trade with Spain could complicate U.S. regulatory approval for Santander’s $12.2 billion acquisition of Webster Financial, potentially delaying or derailing the deal, analyst Mike Mayo warns.
Trump's row with Spain could stall Santander-Webster deal, analyst says
Impact of U.S.-Spain Trade Tensions on Santander's Acquisition of Webster Financial
By Tatiana Bautzer
Analyst Concerns Over Deal Approval
NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) - Santander's $12.2 billion acquisition of U.S. regional lender Webster Financial could be stalled by President Donald Trump's decision to suspend trade with Spain, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo said in a note to clients on Tuesday.
Mayo downgraded Webster's stock to underweight, citing potential hurdles to approve the deal, which was announced last month.
Regulatory Challenges and Analyst Commentary
"The U.S. president today said trade with Spain will halt," Mayo wrote. "We extrapolate this comment to mean that U.S. regulatory approval for Banco Santander to acquire Webster will be incrementally harder to obtain."
Santander's Strategic Objectives
Santander, which is Spain's largest bank, struck the deal in an effort to join the top 10 retail and commercial banks in the U.S. If completed, it would give Santander a combined U.S. balance sheet of approximately $327 billion in assets.
Executive Response
Asked about the issue, Santander Executive Chair Ana Botin said she expects Spain and the U.S. to recover quickly.
"Spain and the U.S. have had a great long-term relationship and that is where we are going back to. But we are surely living in extraordinary times," she said during an interview with Bloomberg TV.
Ongoing Commitment to U.S. Customers
Botin did not discuss the relationship with regulators or the deal approval, but said Santander will keep serving its 5 million American customers.
Potential Outcomes and Market Reaction
Escalating U.S.-Spain trade tensions would, in the best scenario, extend the time to approve the deal, Mayo wrote. A potential denial could attract other banks to acquire Webster, but that could cut the deal price by 10%, he said.
Webster's shares were down 3.2% in late afternoon trading, while Santander's shares closed more than 6% lower.
(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer, Editing by Franklin Paul, Lananh Nguyen, Paul Simao and Stephen Coates)
Key Takeaways
- •Trump threatened to halt all trade with Spain after Madrid denied U.S. use of military bases — raising regulatory risk for the cross-border deal.
- •Analyst Mike Mayo downgraded Webster’s stock to underweight, citing that escalating U.S.–Spain tensions could prolong or block approval of the Santander‑Webster transaction.
- •Market concerns reflect broader execution and integration risks, with analysts already flagging skepticism over cost synergies and return targets tied to the acquisition.
Frequently Asked Questions about Trump's row with Spain could stall Santander-Webster deal, analyst says
1Why could the Santander-Webster deal be delayed?
The deal could be delayed due to President Trump's decision to suspend trade with Spain, making US regulatory approval harder.
2How much is Santander's acquisition of Webster Financial worth?
Santander's planned acquisition of Webster Financial is valued at $12.2 billion.
3What impact did the news have on Webster and Santander shares?
Webster's shares dropped 3.2% and Santander's shares fell by more than 6% following the news.
4Who downgraded Webster's stock and why?
Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo downgraded Webster's stock to underweight, citing approval hurdles related to the US-Spain trade suspension.
