Santander said it was unlikely to kick off the listing of its British arm any time soon due to difficult market conditions, indicating one of the biggest planned UK flotations will be delayed until next year.
Spanish bank Santander, the euro zone's biggest, plans to spin off and separately list its UK business. The sale of a 20 percent stake could raise more than 3 billion pounds ($4.8 billion), sources have said.
The bank had wanted the move to happen in the first half of this year, but the timetable has been pushed back because financial markets have been rocky. "Market timing is important, right now is probably not the best time," Ana Botin, Chief Executive of Santander UK, said on BBC Radio 4 on Friday.
"We will be making that final decision in the next few weeks, the next few months," she said, adding it was a decision for head office, based in Madrid.
Botin was speaking after the UK arm said it would bring all retail banking customer call centres back to Britain from India, creating about 500 UK-based jobs, as it attempts to improve customer service.