Pete Rizzo,

Spanish banking giant Banco Santander is no longer a member of the R3 blockchain consortium, CoinDesk has learned.

The news comes hours after it was revealed thatGoldman Sachs, one of the founding 12 members of the consortium effort, would depart the group. At press time, Goldman Sachs has not yet stated its reason for leaving, though it is known R3 is now soliciting as much as $150m in funding from its members.

Ovidio Cordero, a corporate communications representative for Santander, was similarly tight-lipped about Santander’s decision to leave, indicating the bank could not provide more details about its departure.

Cordero said:

“We have made the decision to abandon the consortium.”

Sources close to the deal indicate that Santander is among a small number of firms that may have privately withdrawn from the consortium in recent weeks, and that a planned funding round is still moving ahead.

While Santander did not comment, the decision does not appear to be linked to Goldman Sachs’ decision to withdraw.

In response, officials at R3CEV reiterated a statement issued earlier in the day:

“Developing technology like this requires dedication and significant resources, and our diverse pool of members all have different capacities and capabilities which naturally change over time.”