Banca Privada Banif, which is set to merge with Santander, has no connection with the Portuguese financial Group Banif SA or Banif Bank (Malta) plc, the Maltese bank clarified this week.

The merger is forecast to generate synegies of €520 million in the third year

Santander announced on Monday that it is to absorb the Banesto and Banif banks in Spain in a bid to combine its Spanish brands. Santander currently holds 89.74 per cent of Banesto’s share capital.

Spain’s Banif, which operates an integrated model of private banking, has €36 billion of assets under management and 550 employees in 52 branches.

Banif is an acronym for both theSpanish and the Portuguese banking organisations, a Banif Bank (Malta) spokesperson explained.

“Banif (Portugal) is the acronym for Banco Internacional do Funchal, the Portuguese Financial Group, which is connected to Banif Bank (Malta) plc,” the official told The Times Business. “Banif (Spain) stands for Banco de Investimento Financeiro. In Spain, Banif was operating before the Portuguese Banif Financial Group so Banif of Portugal could not operate under that name in the country. Banif has two banks in Spain: Banco Pime and Banco Pueyo.”

The merger is forecast to generate synergies of €520 million in the third year and cost savings will be realised through the integration of central services; 700 branches will be closed. The absorption of Banif, a 100 per cent-owned unit of the group, will reinforce Santander’s specialised private banking network in Spain.

Santander said the transaction was part of the restructuring of the Spanish financial system and will strengthen its brand which will have 4,000 offices under the same corporate identity. The merger will be completed in May. Operational and brand integration will be finalised next year.

Brand Finance has ranked Santander as the most valuable banking brand in Spain and the fourth most valuable in the world. The merger of the two networks under a single brand will boost Grupo Santander’s growth in both loans and deposits

The integration of Santander, Banesto and Banif will allow the reinforcement of Santander’s specialised business network, thanks to Banesto’s leadership in financing for small and medium-sized businesses. Grupo Santander is the leader in wealth management in Spain, with some €78 billion of assets under management.