Spanish bank Santander is set to rebrand all of its UK High Street brands and change their names to Santander by the end of 2010. The change will affect Abbey, Alliance and Leicester and Bradford and Bingley, with 1,300 branches affected in total at a cost of £12 million. It will be business as usual for any customers of those banks, just under a different name. Santander claim they will be able to save £180 million from merging the three businesses into a single brand, which already operates in over 40 countries.
António Horta-Osório, chief executive of Santander's UK businesses, said, 'Customers trust us as a global brand and they feel very safe about their savings . It's important for customers who travel around the UK to have 1,300 branches to transact with, and they will have the same product and the same people facing them in the branches.'
However, banking analysts have voiced concerns over the move, believing it to be a risk. Given the trust of British bankers in businesses such as Abbey, any rebrand demands the trust of the bank's consumers. Should any customers object, analysts expect Santander to lose customers.






