Reportedly, Santander has spent GBP30m for refurbishing 1,000 branches around the UK, of which around 500 branches in London and the south-east of England will first undergo transformation.
The remaining 500 Abbey and Bradford & Bingley branches will be converted over the next fortnight and Santander’s other UK brand, Alliance & Leicester, will change later in the year.
Once rebranding is complete, the new combined bank will have approximately 25 million customers with access to around 1,300 branches across the UK. The move is expected to shrink the pool of mortgage and savings offerings from Santander, as it will provide one set of rates for all new customers.
To coincide with the rebranding, the Spain-based bank has launched a new ‘zero’ current account for its mortgage customers that does not charge any penalty fees. In a statement, the bank said: “This is the main advantage for customers. We have made a commitment to keep 1,300 branches and customers will be able to use any of them.”
Antonio Horta-Osorio, CEO of Santander’s UK businesses, said: “The success of our UK business has given us the confidence to move to the Santander name now and with it deliver the next phase of our transformation programme and make 1,300 branches available to our 25 million customers in the UK.”
