Santander says will increase U.S. business equity by up to $2 billion

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Santander (SAN.MC ) said on Thursday that it intended to increase the equity of Santander Holdings USA – which houses its U.S. banking and consumer finance businesses – by up to $2 billion.

The bank, which did not specify how this capital would be raised or transferred, said it would increase the equity to support its growth plans in the United States.

Santander’s consumer finance unit in the region, Santander Consumer USA (SC.N ), has just listed on the New York stock Exchange, while the bank has also said it aims to double profits in its U.S. banking business by 2016 to $2 billion.

($1 = 0.7372 euros)

(Reporting by Sarah White, Editing by Julien Toyer)