Santander to close bank branches to reduce overlap

Santander is to close 56 branches to reduce the overlap in its UK banking network that has been created through the takeovers of Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley. The closures have begun even as the Spanish bank continues to negotiate the acquisition of 318 branches from Royal Bank of Scotland – although four of these may no longer be included in the sale. RBS has to sell the branches to meet EU requirements on state aid, just as Lloyds Banking Group has to sell 632 branches . Lloyds has conducted exclusive talks with the Co-operative Bank this weekend but is expected to receive a letter shortly from NBNK, the acquisition vehicle run by former Northern Rock boss Gary Hoffman, expressing an interest in renewing its own bid should the opportunity arise. The branches being closed by Santander are on high streets where the bank already has three outlets, and the majority are either former Alliance & Leicester or Bradford & Bingley branches rebranded with the Santander logo. The group has a 1,200-strong network in only 773 towns and cities because of the overlap. It has three branches in 107 places and is now closing units in 56 of these – although it will find itself with more triple locations once the RBS branches are absorbed by the end of 2012, a year behind schedule. A spokesman said: "Since integrating and rebranding Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, Santander UK has been closely reviewing how its customers use the new enlarged branch network. Based on this analysis, Santander UK is consolidating some of its branches; only where our detailed, two-year research shows we can continue to provide the level of service needed to the local community." The spokesman added there would be no staff redundancies from the closures.