RSS Feed

Related Articles

Related Categories

Santander: Takeover of A&L and B&B

3rd February 2009 Print
2008 was the year which saw the Santander Group consolidate its presence in the UK savings and mortgage market through the acquisition of the Alliance and Leicester Group, and the branches and deposit business of Bradford and Bingley. Offshore, the group now also includes Alliance and Leicester International and Bradford and Bingley International, both of which are based on the Isle of Man.

These takeovers mean that savers in the two banks can breathe more easily, knowing that their deposits are protected both by the local Isle of Man scheme and the corporate undertaking issued by Santander which now stands behind these two groups.

Santander, Abbey and Abbey International have all remained strong and well capitalised during 2008, despite the volatility affecting global stock markets. One reason for this is that Banco Santander is a well diversified bank with operations all over the world, funded by retail deposits from over 80 million clients served via 13,000 branches.

Abbey and Santander share an AA stable credit rating from both the Fitch and Standard and Poor’s credit rating agencies. This rating is currently the highest awarded by these agencies to any UK bank, a clear testimony to the security that clients may derive from banking with the Santander Group.

Looking to the future, Santander have yet to announce how they will structure their two new acquisitions, but savers in both can now rest assured that they are part of a strong, well capitalised Group which is well placed to ride out any future volatility.