Santander may leave UK

friolento

cfw1994 said:

MikeJXE said:

I have had a 123 account for 12 years

If they close they close, no big deal 

I’ll move

Been with them as our main account for year.
Always found it pretty good - bits of cashback, etc.

Wonder whether to move or to one for the “transfer” bonus now, before a forced move means no bonus!

There’s no reason to think you’d be excluded from current account switching whenever you like. If you have savings accounts, you can also move your money as you see fit, in compliance with the T&Cs of the accounts. 

There’s also no reason to think the Santander exit would happen anytime soon, if at all.

steven141

Well TSB have just put their offer up today for those that want to switch you get £100 free up front and up to £60 over 6 months if you use the debit card 20 times or more. You have to meet the terms and conditions https://www.tsb.co.uk/content/dam/tsb-public/documents/current-accounts/switcher-offers/tsb-current-account-switch-offer-terms-and-conditions9.pdf

There are also other switching offers https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts/

GeoffTF

It is just noise:

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-14310625/We-love-UK-declares-Santander-boss-insists-group-not-quit-Britain.html

steven141

GeoffTF said:

It is just noise:

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-14310625/We-love-UK-declares-Santander-boss-insists-group-not-quit-Britain.html

That’s good news as they seem to offer some competitive products at times.

Ergates

adamp87 said:

Ultimately it seems their retail banking arm isn't making money - they'll still be keeping their commercial and investment banking here.

Bit of an issue with that many customers if they can't make it work though - perhaps there's more of a problem with the bank and customer perception than anything else. That said because of our very protective banking laws unlike many in Europe- they seem to be complaining they can't make money because we don't want to see another 2008..

Good riddance really if they choose to leave, it might be nobody buys up their branch network - we are already seeing mass branch closures and mergers- Lloyds now is looking to allow multibrand acess which will mean more retail bank closures. 

Why pay for a high street prescence in old expensive buildings, leases, energy and such if they aren't required (Not justifying all the closures we are seeing but it's clear despite the need by some of the population for these- which will be covered more and more by Banking Hubs.. the banks don't see the return on these large branches anymore)

The mortgate book will be really want people want mortgage in any potential sale. If they do (and I still think it would be suprising, moreso an effort to try and get the government to relax their rules which they won't., then it'll be picked up

Mortgages, credit cards, loans, business banking - all of those are valuable to a purchaser.

Retail banking - not so much any more, other than as an opportunity to cross sell.

That's why they're considering leaving - so they can concentrate on parts of the world where you can still change a customer £20 for sending them a letter telling them you've charged them £50 for going over drawn by 1p.

Theleak250

The boss of Santander uk is standing down, make of that what you will. 

Olenna

Theleak250 said:

The boss of Santander uk is standing down, make of that what you will. 

Either last chance saloon before selling up or they've already decided to sell up and this person is there to get  it ready...

GeoffTF

I read something that suggested that Santander has spoken to Barclays about selling the bank, but they could not agree a price. Perhaps Santander does want to sell if it can get a good price, but the likely buyers will want a knock down price. Any business is potentially up for sale if someone makes a big enough offer, but that does not mean it is likely to be sold any time soon.

lr1277

The assets of a bank are its mortgage and loan books. Maybe credit cards as well, though not sure about that. These can be bought more cheaply than buying the business as a whole, which involves buildings and many fixed and variable costs.