Santander US Increases Minimum Wage to $20

Nearly triple the federal minimum wage

Invests in team members’ financial security and career development

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Santander Holdings USA, Inc. ("Santander US” and “Santander”) announced today that it will increase its minimum hourly wage to $20, nearly triple the federal minimum wage and higher than the minimum wage offered by most leading competitors. The wage hike is available to Santander Bank, N.A. and Santander Consumer (“SC”) USA employees who work onsite in branches, call centers and corporate offices.

For Santander Bank (“the Bank”) retail branch employees, this latest wage increase was implemented in January and February as team members continued to serve and support clients in-person throughout the Omicron surge. Between 2018 and 2022, the Bank has increased its minimum wage by more than 33 percent.

Santander Bank and SC Operations teams will also implement the new $20 minimum hourly wage as employees are invited back to the office under a flexible, hybrid model. The increase goes into effect for the Bank’s operations teams on April 3 and on June 1 for SC Operations. The current wage hike is a 16 percent increase for SC in just a two-year period.

“Our customer-facing team members across Santander US provide in-person support and business critical services to our clients to help them achieve their financial goals,” said Santander US CEO Tim Wennes. “This latest pay increase recognizes their hard work and contributions and ensures we remain competitive in the marketplace as we look to attract and retain top talent.”

In addition to base pay increases, merit increases and bonus opportunities, Santander also invests in team member training, career development, health and wellness programs, and employee network groups to help colleagues achieve their personal and professional goals.

Santander strives to be an employer of choice and is committed to supporting its team members, especially through the pandemic. Support of team members through COVID-related disruptions has included programs like daily stipends, emergency Paid Time Off (PTO), additional PTO to receive or recover from the COVID-19 vaccine, and expanded childcare and adult care benefits.

Santander is recruiting top talent across the US, including in its branches and operations centers. To view open roles, interested candidates can visit www.santandercareers.com.

About Santander Holdings USA, Inc.

Santander Holdings USA, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Madrid-based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN) (Santander), a global banking group with 153 million customers in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. As the intermediate holding company for Santander’s U.S. businesses, SHUSA is the parent organization of financial companies with approximately 14,600 employees, approximately 5 million customers, and $160 billion as of December 2021. These include Santander Bank, N.A., Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., Banco Santander International, Santander Securities LLC, Santander Investment Securities Inc., and several other subsidiaries. Santander US is recognized as a top 10 auto lender, a top 10 multifamily lender, and a top 20 commercial real estate lender, and has a growing wealth management business with more than $41 billion in assets under management. For more information on Santander US, please visit www.santanderus.com.