Santander sole bidder for RBS branches
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Santander has revealed it has offered the only current bid for RBS’ Williams & Glyns branch network.
In a stock exchange announcement this morning, the Spanish bank revealed it has placed a bid for the 318 high street branches.
The bank says: “Currently, it is not possible to say when the tender process will conclude.”
No other bids have been tendered with the National Australian Bank being the only other bank to have assessed the available branch network. RBS, which is 84 per cent owned by the UK taxpayer, has been forced to shed the branches by the EU Competition Commission after it received a multi-billion pound bail out from the Government.
Santander currently has 25 million customers in 1,300 branches across the UK made up of the former branch networks of Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley. It is the UK’s third largest deposit taker and second largest mortgage lender.
Unite national officer Rob MacGregor says: “This move by Santander to buy 318 branches is yet another nail in the coffin of the diverse financial services sector which consumers have long benefited from. Simply on the basis of market competition on the high street, this sale is bad news.
“There is a danger that soon British customers will only have one provider to choose from. Where does this daily consolidation in the sector leave the Con-Dem Government’s commitment to a diverse financial services industry?”
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