Santander Adds Three Lending Executives

Santander Bank has announced three high-level appointments, two overseeing lending operations and another overseeing marketing, according to a press release.

Patrick Smith was named head of Small Business Banking.

Smith is new to the bank and will be based in Boston, overseeing  the strategic direction, product pricing and portfolio management of the Small Business Banking division, Santander stated in the announcement. He previously was executive vice president and head of commercial digital business at KeyBank.

Smith holds a B.S. from Tuskegee University, an MBA from the University of Chicago and an M.S. in Information Technology Management from the University of Virginia, according to Santander.

Giancarlo Marchesi was named head of Consumer Lending, a new role at Santander. He will join the bank Oct. 13 and be based in New York, according to today’s announcement, which states, “He will manage all aspects of consumer lending, from mortgages to auto lending, responsible for driving the growth of the businesses and their products.”

Marchesi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in international marketing from Hofstra University and an MBA in finance from New York University, according to Santander.

Also, Jennifer Mathissen was named chief marketing officer. She is set to join the bank Nov. 2 and is coming from CVS, Santander stated in its news release. She is an expert in analytics, Santander stated, and holds a B.A. in economics from Mount Holyoke College.

All three will report to Pierre Habis, Santander’s head of consumer and business banking, today’s news release stated.

Tim Wennes, chief executive of Santander U.S. and Santander Bank, said in a prepared statement: “Santander Bank is on a path toward growth through simplifying how we go to market and expanding our digital product offerings. These leaders will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to Santander and their talent will be invaluable as we execute against our strategy.”

“We want to become closer to our customers, and these new leaders will help us build an operating model that matches our customer-first mindset,” he added.

Santander’s hires come as federal regulators are strongly encouraging banks to increase small loans to consumers. The regulators have let banks know they specifically would like to see more lending in communities hit especially hard by the pandemic.