06/03/2024

Re-enter Santander

Santander have re-entered the UK retail structured product market as a counterparty to structured deposits, offered by Walker Crips. The last plans that utilised Santander as counterparty were two issued back in 2018 via Investec, however these were capital at risk plans. We have to go back as far as 2013 to find the last time Santander were a deposit taker in the sector with those plans issued through the bank’s subsidiary, Cater Allen. Beyond the two Investec plans in 2018 Santander have been absent from the sector since 2015 having been behind over 170 new issues since 2003.

The re-introduction of Santander adds further diversification to the sector, allowing investors to spread counterparty exposure between an increasing number of Globally Systemically Important Banks (G-SIB).

In the initial range are two, three-year FTSE linked growth deposits and what looks like a very competitively priced step-down FTSE kick-out with a maximum term of five years, final reference level of 85% of initial FTSE level and potential coupon of 6.25% for each year held. We feel the potential for a 31.25% interest payment at the end of five years, provided the FTSE is no more than 15% below its starting level is more than a fair trade, in addition to the protection of capital at the end of term if the FTSE falls by more than 15%.  

Santander UK plc are rated A by Standard & Poor’s indicating they have strong capacity to meet financial commitments.

 

 

Structured Investments put capital at risk.