Santander UK announced on Monday the appointment of Mike Regnier as its chief executive officer (CEO), subject to regulatory approval.
Regnier joins Santander UK from Yorkshire Building Society, where he has been CEO since 2017 and prior to that chief commercial and chief customer officer.
Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society announced Stephen White has been appointed as its interim CEO with immediate effect.
Yorkshire said outgoing CEO Regnier will work with White to ensure a smooth transition before he leaves the society at the end of the year.
The building society said it is working with external executive search partners to find a permanent CEO.
Regnier has over 25 years’ financial services and retail experience, having held a variety of leadership positions across a range of firms including Lloyds Banking Group, TSB, Halifax and Asda.
He started his career as a management consultant, initially at Arthur. D Little before moving to the Boston Consulting Group.
Santander chairman William Vereker said: “I am delighted to be able to appoint someone of Mike’s calibre as our new CEO.
“He brings a powerful combination of experience, knowledge and energy, twinned with a positive vision for the future of the bank.
“I am confident that he will provide the strategic leadership required to drive the bank forward and fulfil our ambition to be a responsible and diverse business with our customers, communities and colleagues at its heart.
“I look forward to working with Mike and building on the work of Nathan and the leadership team.”
Antonio Simoes, Head of Europe and CEO of Santander Spain, said: “I am thrilled to welcome Mike to Santander UK and the European leadership team.
“His proven track record and leadership skills will be invaluable as we build a better bank across One Europe.”
Regnier said: “I am honoured to be joining Santander, a bank with a rich heritage in the UK, a strong track record of innovation and a commitment to helping our country prosper.
“I am excited to be able to make a real difference to people and businesses across the UK, helping them to thrive and grow with the support of Santander’s incredible team and unique services and products.”
Yorkshire Building Society chairman John Heaps said: “I would like to thank Mike for his outstanding contribution to the society over the last seven years.
“He has led the Society superbly through a period of significant challenge as we have addressed both the transformation to a more digitised world and the complexities of the Covid pandemic.
“Our performance this year, including the results at the half year showing strong growth in both mortgages and savings, strong profitability and over £40m of additional value passed back to our members, is a proper reflection of how well the executive has performed under Mike’s leadership.
“I am pleased that Stephen White, who is currently our chief operating officer, will take over as interim CEO.
“Stephen has more than 25 years of experience in financial services across the UK, Ireland and Australia, and has been with the society almost six years.
“Stephen will ensure we continue to help real life happen for our members and build on the Society’s success of over 155 years.
“We are working with external executive search partners to find a permanent successor to Mike and anticipate there will be a number of very strong candidates.”
In July, Yorkshire Building Society announced that its retail savings balances rose £1.8 billion to £35.2 billion during the six months to June 30, 2021.
The mutually-owned Yorkshire said its profit before tax for the first six months of this year was £147.7 million, an increase on £67.3 million over the same period of 2020.
Yorkshire Building Society has assets of £49.4 billion and nearly three million customers.