El Corte Inglés has agreed to sell a 51 percent stake in its consumer finance business, Financiera El Corte Inglés, to Santander, one of its major lenders. According to Reuters, the bank is paying €140 million for the profitable operation, which generated revenues of €168.4 million last year. If regulatory authorities approve the deal, payment would be made through an extraordinary dividend by Financiera to its parent company, reducing its value of €415 million. With more than 10.5 million store card customers, Financiera is said to be the largest consumer finance business in Spain.

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