Banking giant Santander said on Monday that it will absorb two of its Spanish offshoots, closing 700 branches in the latest stage of Spain's great banking shake-up.

Santander, the biggest bank in the eurozone by market value, said it could save 520 million euros ($680 million) a year by absorbing the offshoots, Banesto and Banif.

Santander, the biggest Eurozone bank by capitalization, said Thursday that its 2012 second quarter profit plunged by an annualized 92.8 percent owing to provisions ordered by Spanish regulators.

The bank's net profit for the three months from April through June fell to 100 million euros ($121 million) a statement said.