Santander Has Historic $13 Billion Loss as Covid Takes Toll
- Impairments at U.K., U.S., other units as economy deteriorates
- Loss is first since Spanish bank was founded in 1857
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Banco Santander SA slumped to the first loss in its 163-year history after the Covid-19 health crisis forced it to write down the value of its businesses across the globe.
The Spanish bank expanded rapidly into areas that have now been hit hard by the pandemic -- such as U.K. consumer finance and low-quality U.S. loans -- with a $14.8 billion writedown on assets to reflect the worsening economic outlook. The charges sent Santander spiraling to a $13 billion quarterly loss, the biggest since UniCredit SpA’s 13.6 billion-euro loss in late 2016.