Santander to Buy $3.2 Bln in Auto Loans From Citi

Banco Santander SA, Spain’s biggest bank, agreed to purchase about $3.2 billion in auto loans from Citigroup Inc., expanding its U.S. consumer-lending business.

Santander Consumer USA, a Santander unit, will buy the loans from Citigroup’s CitiFinancial Auto, Santander and Citigroup said today in a statement. Santander and Citigroup also have entered into an agreement under which Santander will service a portfolio of about $7.2 billion of auto loans to be retained by Citigroup.