Santander Says Brexit, Catalan Crisis May Impact Its Business

Banco Santander SA, Spain’s largest bank, said Catalan independence aspirations and Brexit-related uncertainty may have an “adverse material effect” on its business and results, according to a prospectus registered with Spanish market regulator CNMV. The outcome of social and political tensions in Catalonia is “still uncertain, and that may affect the business, financing conditions and environment in which the group operates both in the region and in the rest of Spain,” the June 28 statement said. The Madrid-based lender also said the “great uncertainty” related to Brexit may jeopardize the restructuring under way in its U.K. units, which accounted for a quarter of the bank’s total assets as of Dec. 31.