William Vereker to step down as Santander UK board chair this year
Santander UK has announced that William Vereker will step down as its board chair “during the course of 2025” after more than four years in the role.

Santander UK’s William Vereker to step down in 2025 (Image: LinkedIn)
Announcing the news, the bank says that Vereker will officially step down “once a thorough appointment process and orderly handover have been completed”.
Although a timeline for the transition process has not been disclosed, Santander adds that its Board Nomination and Governance Committee is “undertaking a thorough chair appointment process”, with Vereker’s replacement to be “announced in due course”.
The bank credits Vereker, whose tenure as chair started on 1 November 2020, for guiding it through “an extensive period of business transformation” and “a significant evolution of the board”.
Notable additions made under Vereker include former Yorkshire Building Society exec Mike Regnier, who was hired as CEO of Santander UK in 2022.
“With the transformation well under way and having a strong CEO and a refreshed board in place, now is the right time for me to step down,” comments Vereker.
Ana Botin, group executive chair of parent group Banco Santander, says Vereker has played an “invaluable role” in “steering the UK bank through some of the most challenging circumstances in recent times”.
In October, it was reported that Banco Santander was cutting 1,425 jobs at its UK unit in a bid to reduce costs.