Spanish banking giant Santander has today revealed a 13% rise in fourth-quarter net profit to €2.2 billion (£1.9 billion). Meanwhile the bank, which is the second largest banking group in the world after HSBC, said gross income grew almost 24% to €10 billion. For the 2009 year as a whole, net profit was up 1% [...]
Spanish banking giant Santander is to begin its integration of UK High Street banks - Abbey and Bradford & Bingley (B&B). Santander, which is the second largest banking group in the world after HSBC, became a household name in the UK when it acquired Abbey for £9.5 billion, back in 2004. In July 2008, it [...]
Banks are increasingly tempting their current account holders with mortgage offers, as they seek to become “one-stop shops” in financial services. Research from financial products analyst, Defaqto, suggests the number of mortgage offers available exclusively to current account customers is on the rise. According to the firm, Abbey offers free valuations and cash back on [...]
Annoying neighbours are providing a major reason for Britons to embark on a house move, even in today’s difficult market. Information from Abbey Mortgages suggests that 95,000 homeowners have sold up in the last two years to escape the people next door, forming a significant proportion of the UK’s 680,000 home movers during the period, [...]
Mortgage borrowers with Santander will soon be able to take advantage of a bank current account that attaches no fees to overdrafts, whether authorised or unauthorised. The Spanish banking giant is launching a “Zero” current account on 11th January 2010 to coincide with its rebranding of Abbey, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester to [...]
Abbey and Alliance & Leicester are offering preferential mortgage rates to some existing customers. The lenders, both part of the Santander group, are enticing current account holders who have been with the banks for six months or more with new deals available in branch or on the telephone. The range includes fee-free tracker and fixed-rate [...]
Abbey has captured 20.5% of the UK mortgage market. The share is up from 16.3% of gross mortgage lending during the six months to the end of June 2009. Impressively, the bank’s prudent approach to lending meant that arrears of three months or more stood at 1.34% in the third quarter of the year, compared [...]
Abbey has been working out accommodation costs for potential first-time buyers currently in the rental sector and has discovered that for those living outside London, it is now cheaper to buy rather than rent. The good news is only for those who have managed to save a 25% deposit but nonetheless means that over than [...]
Nationwide has cut rates on a range of its mortgages and is offering a two-year fixed-rate deal at 3.88% for home movers, at a maximum loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of 70%. A two-year tracker is available from 2.94% (up to 70% LTV), and for a three-year tracker, rates start at 3.14% for (up to 75% LTV). [...]
Abbey for Intermediaries has launched a broker-only mortgage range with no legal or valuation costs attached. According to the lender, the new deal is the first of its kind to be offered to brokers and could save customers up £1,650 in upfront costs. The Homebuyer Plus range includes a two-year tracker at 3.29% for a [...]
Nearly half of UK consumers are failing to save any of their monthly income, research by Abbey found. Two in five Brits are not putting any money aside. However, those who are saving are managing to bank more cash than they were at the start of the year. The average amount saved has increased 26% [...]
Abbey and Alliance & Leicester (A&L) are offering new customers a £100 incentive to switch to their current accounts. The Santander-owned banks are offering the bonus to new customers opening an Abbey Preferred Overdraft Rate account or an A&L Premier Account from today. To receive the cash bonus, customers must fund the account with a [...]
Santander plans to discontinue the 6% current account at its UK banks. The 6% + 6% offer, which pays new Abbey and Alliance & Leicester customers 6% interest on their current account and on monthly savings, will close later this week. Savers taking maximum advantage of the offer could earn nearly £250 interest in the [...]
Abbey, Alliance & Leicester, and Bradford & Bingley have announced the launch of a new two-year fixed-rate bond paying interest at 4.2%. Savers can open the bond with an investment of between £10,000 and £2 million. Any withdrawals incur a penalty of 120 days interest. The bonds can be opened by visiting any branch of [...]
Abbey will be giving away £50 every hour next month in a Facebook prize draw. The £36,000 prize draw, open to anyone with a Facebook profile, has been set up to promote the £50 cash bonus given to students opening a new Abbey Student Account. “This free prize draw is a great opportunity for students [...]
The number of homeowners letting out a room to a lodger has almost tripled in the last year, research from Abbey Mortgages has discovered. Nearly one million UK households now include a lodger as homeowners seek to increase their income during the recession. UK homeowners could potentially earn over £6 billion by letting out unused [...]
Abbey’s 6% savings account for small businesses will only be available until the end of this month, the business banking provider warned this week. “The clock is now ticking and I would urge small businesses who haven’t already taken advantage of this offer, to do so before time runs out,” said Paula Ickinger, Abbey Business [...]
Abbey Business this week launched two new bonds paying up to 3.2% interest and aimed at SMEs. The bonds, available to businesses with a turnover of up to £1 million, are available for business savings between £50,000 and £2 million. The 12 month Fixed Rate Business Bond pays 3.2% gross pa/AER, maturing on 1 September [...]
Santander’s UK banks are offering interest rates of up to 6% on monthly savings accounts and current accounts. Abbey’s Super Fixed Rate Monthly Saver and Alliance & Leicester’s (A&L) Premier Regular Saver are both paying the headline rate to savers who invest a fixed amount between £20 and £250 per month. However, there’s a catch. [...]
Abbey and Alliance & Leicester (A&L) are together claiming to be the UK’s second-biggest mortgage lenders, behind HBOS. Both banks belong to Spanish group, Santander, which reported its half-year results this week. The figures reveal that Abbey and A&L were responsible for 16.3% of the UK’s gross mortgage lending during the six months to the [...]
Barclays appoints new chairman
Barclays has announced the appointment of Sir David Walker as its new chairman. He will take over from Marcus Agius who resigned from the role after Barclays was fined £290 million by regulators in the UK and US for manipulating Libor, the interbank lending rate. The appointment of Sir David, a respected and experienced banker, [...]
Post Office stepping up mortgage offering
The Post Office is expanding its mortgage service with the introduction of mortgage specialists in its branches. Mortgages have been available from the Post Office since 2009, but applications have had to be made online or over the phone. It currently offers mortgage with deposits as low as 10 per cent and plans to enhance [...]
Help Loan closed after breaching money-laundering rules
Payday Loan company MCO Capital has been closed down by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and fined £544,000 after failing to check the identity of its borrowers. The firm, which traded as Help Loan, was targeted by criminals and cheated of more than £1.5m by the fraudsters due to its negligence. The criminals stole [...]
Health insurance becoming unaffordable warns Bupa
The rising cost of private healthcare is pushing health insurance in the UK up to unaffordable levels, according to international healthcare group Bupa. A lack of competition among private hospitals has led to the cost of treatment rising, and the insurer says that this could lead to health insurance becoming unaffordable. An increase in the [...]
Bank of England forecasts zero economic growth
The Bank of England does not expect the UK economy to grow at all this year according to its latest quarterly report. It had previously forecast growth of 2 per cent for 2012 but recent gloomy economic data has led to the growth forecast being revised downwards. The forecast for medium-term growth has also been [...]
Standard Chartered in money-laundering scandal
Standard Chartered has become the latest UK bank to be accused of illegal activity. It has been accused by the New York department of financial services of hiding $250 billion worth of illegal transactions with Iranian banks between 2001 and 2010. The US regulator claims that the bank, which has wholesale banking, corporate finance and [...]
Economy benefiting from PPI refunds
The UK economy is receiving a welcome boost from compensation paid by banks to customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI). British banks have already paid out £9 billion after it came to light that they had been routinely mis-selling insurance policies designed to protect repayments on mortgage, loan and credit cards. With payouts [...]
Average house price falls to £161,000
House prices fell in July, to an average of £161,094 across the country, after increasing in the previous two months. Prices fell by 0.6 per cent in July, compared with the previous month, according to the Halifax House Price Index. Average prices are also 0.6 per cent lower compared with July 2011, the Halifax said. [...]
Tesco to offer club card points on mortgages
Retailer Tesco is launching mortgage products through Tesco Bank, allowing Tesco Clubcard holders to earn points on repayments. It is offering mainly fixed-rate deals, with interest rates ranging from 3.19 per cent to 5.09 per cent and a minimum deposit of 20 per cent. With many fixed-rate deals currently offering interest rates of below 3 [...]
Holidaymakers shun travel insurance and breakdown cover
Many holidaymakers will embark on their annual break without any travel insurance and people taking to the roads in Europe are failing to take out breakdown cover. A study by the Money Advice Service reveals that 53 per cent of people in the UK are planning to take a summer holiday, but half of these [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
