Banco Santander Share News (BNC)

(Sharecast News) - Santander's UK Chief Executive took home a £4.6m pay package in 2018, according to the lender's annual report.Nathan Bostock had a base salary of £1.6m last year and earned a bonus worth £2.3m, together with a further £638,000 in pensions and benefits. Although the salary was slightly higher, the pay package declined from £4.7m in 2017.His £4.6m of total pay was further boosted by £1.8m to compensate him for share bonuses he gave up when he left Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) at the end of 2013.The pay package news comes after the group announced last month that it will axe 140 branches across the UK, putting 1,200 jobs at risk.It also comes as the Spanish-based bank reported a drop of 14% in underlying UK profits to £1.7bn for 2018 and took a hit from a £32.8m fine for "serious failings" around deceased customers accounts."Our management team has delivered solid business performance this year, delivering for our shareholders, people, customers and communities," Santander UK's remuneration committee wrote in an annual report published on Wednesday."The continued progress made towards our strategic and operational goals (including the establishment of the ring-fence bank) was achieved despite the competitive and uncertain environment."