Santander wins Fed approval for $12.2bn Webster deal

The US Federal Reserve approved Santander's acquisition of Connecticut-based Webster Bank, a $12.2 billion deal that would expand the Spanish banking group's US presence.

The Fed said Tuesday that, once the proposal is completed, Santander's US holding company would become the 19th largest insured depository organization in the United States, with about $253.6 billion in consolidated assets.

Santander currently operates in nine US states and has more than $81 billion in consolidated deposits. Webster Bank has a large presence in the US northeast and about $69 billion in consolidated deposits, according to the Fed.

Santander said in February that the deal would create a stronger, more competitive bank for customers and would make it a top-10 retail and commercial bank in the United States by assets.