Santander is challenging the lethargy that underlies the reluctance of Britons to save money by switching bank accounts. Research from the Spanish banking giant indicates that 70% of UK adults (or over 34 million people) have not switched their main current account since 2000. Furthermore, 74% of those questioned said they had no plans to [...]
Santander is extending the scope of its much publicised ZERO current account. The fee-free account was launched in January for those with a Santander mortgage and from 8th March, it will also be available to those holding a Santander investment product, or prepared to set one up. The bank reckons around 2.5 million customers who [...]
Santander is reported to be considering selling a stake in its UK operations. The bank, which is in the process of rebranding Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley (B&B) to the group name, is understood to be looking at a London listing, along with other fundraising options. Abbey was acquired by the Spanish [...]
Banco Santander has met its 2009 target, with attributable ordinary profit of €8.943 billion (up 1% on a year earlier). Revenues rose 18% and the group says it continues to progress in its geographical diversification. Continental Europe contributed 48% of group profit (Spain accounts for 26%); Latin America, 36% (Brazil accounts for 20%); and the [...]
Today (January 11th) marks the beginning of Santander’s rebranding of its UK operations. Abbey and Bradford & Bingley (B&B) will both assume the group name in the initial phase of the exercise, with Alliance & Leciester (A&L) coming on board later in the year. All three began life as building societies; Abbey was acquired by [...]
From next week, Abbey and Bradford & Bingley (B&B) current account holders will be able to use Santander’s ATMs in Spain, at no charge. The move means customers withdrawing money in Spain will avoid cash handling fees of 1.5% and foreign exchange fees of 2.75% of the amount withdrawn. Santander is in the process of [...]
Abbey has been hit by an overnight technical glitch that means thousands of customers have failed to have their accounts topped up with BACS payments that include salaries and benefits. The bank has promised that it is doing all it can to get the payments through and will honour direct debits and standing orders on [...]
Santander Zero has been named “Best European Credit Card” in the Service Category at the 2009 Oscards. The awards, which recognise innovation and excellence within the credit card industry, attracted 500 entrants – 64 of which were short-listed across five categories. Director of Santander Cards, Emma Roberts, said: “In such a tough category, with entries [...]
Banco Santander has been named Global Bank of the Year at the 2009 Banker magazine’s Bank of the Year Awards. The accolade celebrates the achievements of the most innovative, dedicated, creative, resilient and ambitious banks in different regions of the world, including central and eastern Europe, Asia, The Americas, Africa and the Middle East. Santander [...]
Santander is launching a “Zero” current account at the beginning of next year, to coincide with its rebranding of Abbey, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester to the group name. Customers going into the red, either authorised or unauthorised, will not be charged a fee and will pay interest at a market-leading rate of [...]
Banco Santander, which owns Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, has reported attributable profit of €2.2 billion for the third quarter of 2009. The performance came in level with a year earlier, leaving the group on track to achieve its earnings target of €8.8 billion by the year end. Provision for bad debt [...]
In its recently published report, Variant Perception argues that Spanish banks are hiding their losses by “not marking their real estate loans to market” and “extending credit to zombie construction companies”. The firm, which describes itself as a “distinctive and original voice in economic analysis”, estimates that loans outstanding with Spanish developers have increased from [...]
Santander is offering to buy back its debt at discount prices. The Spanish bank, which owns Abbey and Alliance & Leicester, says it will purchase asset-backed bonds with a face value of €16.5 billion, paying between 61 cents and 95.5 cents on the euro. The deal relates to 27 different series issued by specific securitization [...]
Three new non-executive directors have been appointed to the Bank of England Court. The new members are: António Horta-Osório, Abbey National plc chief executive; Mark Tucker, the outgoing group chief executive of Prudential and Harrison Hurst Young, non-executive director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. All have been invited to serve a term of three [...]
The BBC has reported that Banco Santander, the Spanish banking giant which has weathered the recent financial turmoil better than many of its rivals, is to rebrand its UK High Street banks. The move has been made due to Santander’s policy of a single brand, and will mean that customers of its UK banks will [...]
The BBC has reported that Abbey has disbanded its panel of 7,000 local solicitors, blaming the slowdown in the property market for the move. The law firms involved have previously handled Abbey’s interest in the conveyancing process when they act for house purchasers who have obtained mortgages from the bank. Typically they have been responsible [...]
