69-620: Cahoot is an internet-only division of Santander UK plc , the British subsidiary of the Santander Group . Cahoot was launched in June 2000, as the internet based banking brand of Abbey National plc. Cahoot is based in Belfast , Northern Ireland . There have been several instances of security or operational failures with the website. The initial launch of the bank in 2000 resulted in
138-586: A Spanish bank. Santander UK plc manages its affairs autonomously, with its own local management team, responsible solely for its performance. Santander UK is one of the leading personal financial services companies in the United Kingdom, and one of the largest providers of mortgages and savings in the United Kingdom. The bank has circa 20,000 employees, 14 million active customers, 64 corporate business centres. The bank, with its head office in 2 Triton Square, Regent's Place, London, NW1 3AN, United Kingdom,
207-528: A comfort after the events of 1878. In that year the City of Glasgow Bank collapsed creating widespread financial uncertainty. In the event, funds flowed into the National in excess of its ability to find borrowers and it decided to deploy surplus funds in the north of England. Losses were incurred and the National confined its operations to within 100 miles of London. Elkington described the 30 years from 1890 as
276-702: A consortium of Deutsche Bank, Lloyds TSB and Antin Infrastructure Partners . The Santander Group announced in May 2009 that Abbey and the Bradford & Bingley branch network would be renamed under the Santander brand on 11 January 2010. Credit cards issued by Abbey were the first to change to Santander. The Abbey name was retained for the Abbey for Intermediaries mortgage division and was retained for
345-642: A cost-cutting exercise. Those jobs moved to Bangalore and Pune in India in 2003. Following the takeover by the Santander Group, the Gateshead operations also closed in March 2005. Investments were previously branded as Inscape, but were renamed Premium Investments in the end of 2008, provided by Santander Portfolio Management. This was subsequently subsumed into the more general telephony operations and
414-546: A credit facility, similar to a credit card, to borrow and repay as necessary, offering attractive interest rates at first. Cahoot also provided current accounts , though it withdrew these from new business in February 2010. Before January 2010, Cahoot informed customers that their loan limits had been "reviewed" and gave 30 days' notice that the withdrawal service was to cease. On 7 June 2015, Cahoot ceased to pay interest on current account balances. In April 2020, Cahoot withdrew
483-474: A division of the bank used by brokers . The bank's branches on the Isle of Man and Jersey have operated under the brand name of Santander International since 2016. Santander's Corporate and Commercial Banking division operates from a number of regional business banking centres across the United Kingdom. In May 2013, Ana Botin announced plans to double the number of centres to 70 within three years. Santander UK
552-703: A full member of the Bankers' Automated Clearing Services (BACS) and became member of the BACS and CHAPS clearing systems. The stage was set for Abbey to end its mutual status and become a public company. In 1987, as a result of financial deregulation enshrined in the Building Societies Act 1986 and Financial Services Act 1986 which allowed financial institutions to own estate agencies, Abbey National launched its own estate agency chain; Cornerstone, purchasing many smaller chains and individual offices with
621-453: A management buyout backed by insurance company Provident Life for £8 million in August 1993. The 347-strong chain employed 1,800 staff and was subject to a write-down of £138 million in March 1993 following annual losses since 1989 of at c. £20 million. Having sold off around 280 branches in 1994, the remaining 70 branches of Cornerstone (although over 200 of the sold branches continued to use
690-686: A period of consolidation with the Society always in the top dozen nationally. However, in the period after WW1 there was exceptional growth both for the industry and the National in particular. Over a 15-year period the advances of the Building Societies Association rose eight-fold whereas those of the National rose by a factor of twenty. The Abbey was founded in 1874 by members of the Free Church in Abbey Road and of
759-710: A significant share of the unsecured lending market in the United Kingdom. It was consistently rated in Consumers' Association and Guardian surveys in the top three best banks in the United Kingdom, for service and pricing. Initially led by Tim Murley, the role was taken over by Tim Sawyer in November 2002, who was succeeded by John Goddard in September 2005. Abbey National was renamed with its parent's brand in January 2010, although Cahoot and other specialist brands of
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#1732798577308828-517: A sponsorship agreement with the bank in September 2011, and in February 2013, it was announced that British heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill would become a brand ambassador. In June 2019, TV presenters Ant & Dec were announced as new brand ambassadors, appearing frequently in their television advertising campaigns. These adverts featured the pair running their own knock-off version of Santander and coming up with all sorts of impractical versions of Santander's services. In February 2015, Santander
897-411: A tarnished image. The chief executive, Ian Harley, a long-time Abbey employee, resigned and his post was filled by an outsider, Luqman Arnold. Arnold spearheaded a major reorganisation of the bank. The First National business was sold, with the car hire business sold to Lloyds TSB for £46 million, with the remaining business sold to General Electric for £848 million. In September 2003 the brand name
966-459: A time for Abbey International before the latter was subsequently rebranded as Santander Private Banking. The Cater Allen , James Hay and Cahoot brands remained. Santander UK plc also retained the name Abbey National Treasury Services ltd ("ANTS") for the division responsible for managing its liquidity, risk management and wholesale banking needs. Abbey's registered office was in London (built on
1035-541: A view to opening a new channel for selling mortgages and endowment policies. The Abbey National Building Society became the first of the United Kingdom building societies to demutualise , and became a public limited company as Abbey National plc on 12 July 1989. It was floated on the London Stock Exchange at £1.30 per share, resulting in an unusually large number of small shareholders – approximately 1.8 million initially. The demutualisation process
1104-559: A wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group , with a rebrand following in February 2005. In January 2010, the savings business of Bradford & Bingley was combined with the bank, and Abbey National plc was renamed Santander UK plc. Prior to the takeover, Abbey National plc was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . The National Building Society had its origins in the freehold land movement, sometimes called
1173-415: A year but during the housing recession of 1990-92 it lost over £50m and was closed. The range of services offered brought Abbey National ever closer to a clearing bank. In 1988, Abbey introduced a full-service interest-bearing cheque account; its administration was restricted by building society rules and the need to find a partner that could clear Abbey's cheques ( The Co-operative Bank ). Later, Abbey became
1242-994: Is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. It is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme , UK Payments Administration , Bankers' Automated Clearing Services (BACS), the Faster Payments Service , the Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS), the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company ,
1311-586: The British Bankers' Association and subscribes to the Lending Code . Six digit account sort codes are used in the range between 09-00-xx to 09-19-xx. Sort codes for accounts formerly held by Alliance & Leicester use the range 09-01-31 to 09-01-36. In November 2009, Santander launched the first current account in the United Kingdom without fees (including unauthorised overdrafts) for its current and future mortgage customers. In January 2010,
1380-626: The bancassurance model. In August 1996, Abbey National took over the National & Provincial Building Society, which was itself the product of a 1982 merger between the Provincial Building Society and the Burnley Building Society . This merger increased Abbey National's branch network by almost two hundred branches and brought in three million more customers. In April 2000, Abbey bought Porterbrook from Stagecoach Group for £773 million. Porterbrook
1449-547: The credit rating of twelve financial firms in the United Kingdom, including Santander UK, blaming financial weakness. In June 2012, Moody rated Santander UK as being in a more financially healthy position than its parent company, Banco Santander. Less than 1% of Santander UK's business is held abroad. The bank has its origins in three constituent companies— Abbey National , Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley —all former mutual building societies . Abbey National, trading as Abbey, had been bought by
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#17327985773081518-403: The 1980s have contributed to many borrowers' mortgage terms being extended by up to 15 years. During this period – which saw considerable turbulence in interest rates – Abbey extended the terms on customers' repayment style mortgages without their knowledge. The Financial Ombudsman Service stated that Abbey customers may be eligible for compensation. As a result of
1587-515: The Abbey Road Church Benefit Society. The chosen name of the society was the Abbey Road and St John’s Wood Mutual Benefit Building Society and it was launched in 1875. Three years later the Society registered under the Building Societies Act 1874 ( 37 & 38 Vict. c. 42) and the name was changed to the Abbey Road and St John’s Wood Permanent Building Society. In contrast to the high-profile public figures who founded
1656-544: The Abbey set aside £250m to stimulate the private homes sector. Thornton worked with Local Authorities to finance inner city renovation, one of the best-known examples being the loan of £3m to the Stockbridge Village Trust to help regenerate 4,000 houses on a rundown council estate in Knowsley . Abbey even formed its own private housebuilding company, Abbey National Homes, in 1986. It built 2-300 houses
1725-1123: The EGMs of Abbey (95 per cent voted in favour, despite vocal opposition from most of those present) and Santander, the acquisition was formally approved by the courts and Abbey became part of the Santander Group on 12 November 2004. Francisco Gómez Roldán took over as chief executive from Luqman Arnold, who received a rumoured £5 million, made up of pay off and share options. Gómez-Roldán died suddenly in July 2006, three weeks before being succeeded by Antonio Horta Osorio. In June 2006, Abbey agreed to sell its life businesses to Resolution plc . The businesses sold to Resolution were Scottish Mutual Assurance, Scottish Provident Limited and Abbey National Life, two offshore life companies, Scottish Mutual International and Scottish Provident International Life Assurance Limited. Abbey retained all of its branch based investment and asset management business, James Hay, Abbey's self invested personal pension company and James Hay Wrap. In July 2007, Abbey admitted that errors that it made in
1794-591: The Estates”; those advances were not to exceed two-thirds of the net value and to be repaid over ten years. Because the Society was not legally allowed to hold land in its own name, in 1858 it formed a separate company British Land to take over all the land previously held in the name of the Trustees. All the capital was subscribed by the National’s own investors but although British Land was financially distinct, there
1863-514: The National from 1933 and chief executive of the merged group from 1948, resigned, as did Stanley Ramsey the “original architect” of the merger. Abbey National was now set for rapid expansion. By 1968, the branch network had reached 150 and assets exceeded £1bn. In the next ten years the business of four other societies was acquired: the Definite Permanent in 1968, The State Building Society in 1970, Highgate Building Society in 1974 and
1932-418: The National had become the largest land society in the country. There were over 100 such societies in existence and the National claimed to be taking forty per cent of the funds. Once the plots had been purchased, the National recognized the need to provide finance for the houses that were to be built on them. In 1854 it published its first advert, inviting applications for advances “for the erection of houses on
2001-542: The National, the start of Abbey Road was more modest. By 1888, the address was still at the schoolroom of the Abbey Road Church and the Secretary advised that he would be available on Friday evenings at his home. The early years saw rapid growth in members of the Society from 111 in that first year to over 1,000 in 1884, reaching 2,000 in 1881, 3,000 in 1901 and over 7,000 by the outbreak of WWI . A new office
2070-493: The Oak Co-operative in 1979. In 1971, the Abbey was opening a branch per week and in 1974, the peak of the private housing boom, there were 335 branches and £3bn. assets. This growth could not have taken place without the increase in new private housebuilding and the expansion in home ownership that created the second-hand market; it also reflected more innovative marketing policies. This innovation reached its peak with
2139-589: The Santander Foundation. Due to the three way merger, Santander was in the unusual position of having more than one branch in many British high streets. In Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne , for example, there were three branches, which were formerly Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley respectively. Plymouth city centre had four branches within three hundred metres, two of which were adjacent to each other. Until December 2019, Shrewsbury had two branches of Santander in
cahoot - Misplaced Pages Continue
2208-445: The Santander Group in July 2004 for £9 billion. Santander purchased Alliance & Leicester in the middle of September 2008, followed by the branches and savings business of Bradford & Bingley , which had been nationalised by HM Government during the 2007–2008 financial crisis . Abbey National and the savings business and branches of Bradford & Bingley were rebranded as Santander on 11 January 2010, and Abbey National plc
2277-515: The United Kingdom from India. During 2011, the bank put aside £538m to cover claims from customers for the misselling of payment protection insurance (PPI). In December 2012, Santander reached an agreement to sell its store card business, which includes branded cards issued for retailers including Topshop , House of Fraser and Debenhams , to SAV Credit . The sale was completed on 13 May 2013, though Santander continued to service accounts on behalf of SAV Credit until 1 April 2014. During 2014,
2346-468: The acquisition of freehold land, and the erection of houses thereon – to enable such of its members as are eligible, to obtain the county franchise”. (The name was changed in 1894 to The National Freehold Land and Building Society and finally to The National Building Society in 1930). The Society was not allowed to purchase land in its own name, so purchases were made by the Trustees and quickly thirteen estates were purchased around London. Within four years,
2415-523: The appointment of Clive Thornton as general manager in 1979. He led a wide range of marketing initiatives, perhaps the best known being the registration of the name “Granny Bonds” to rival the National Savings product. Thornton was more than a passive supplier of funds to house purchasers. He took an activist approach to the housebuilding industry arguing that building societies should finance building of houses and flats to rent privately. In 1980,
2484-621: The bank announced that it intended to close a further 111 UK branches by August 2021. Between 2021 and 2022 the majority of the Bank's back office administration was outsourced to Genpact in India. The bank provides a full range of personal, business and corporate accounts, including current accounts , mortgages , credit products and savings and investments. Santander operate online banking services, including mobile apps , and operate an internet only banking division branded Cahoot . Mortgages are also provided through Santander for Intermediaries,
2553-598: The bank began waiving fees for customers using Santander's automated teller machines in Spain, which traditionally would incur fees for transactions in a foreign currency. Santander has sponsored the McLaren Formula One team since 2007. Santander said its sponsorship of McLaren had raised its brand awareness in the United Kingdom from 20 to 82 percent. The bank announced a second team sponsorship, with Scuderia Ferrari , in 2009. Golfer Rory McIlroy signed
2622-431: The bank considered an initial public offering (IPO), which was expected to be completed within two years. In November 2014, the chief executive of the Santander Group said that an IPO would not be forthcoming until market conditions improved. This view was repeated in July 2015. In January 2019, the bank announced plans to shut 140 branches during that year, reducing the size of its branch network to 614. In March 2021
2691-596: The bank in July 2001, though that was ultimately rejected by the Competition Commission . Abbey also ventured into the wholesale loans business. At first, this provided a good profit stream, despite the criticisms of some analysts. This eventually undid the company, however, when Enron turned out to be unsafe and the 11 September attacks in New York damaged confidence in various financial areas. From this point, Abbey struggled from financial losses and
2760-556: The bank on 28 May 2010, and was rebranded by the end of the year. The bank retained the London headquarters of Abbey National and renamed other regional buildings under its own name. The Abbey name was retained initially for Abbey International (now Santander Private Banking), and Abbey for Intermediaries (now Santander for Intermediaries), the division of the bank offering Abbey branded mortgages provided by Santander UK plc. The charitable divisions of Abbey, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester were brought together to form
2829-475: The bank were retained by Santander. Cahoot operates as a division of Santander UK, and shares Santander's banking licence and headquarters. Its business model involves a small operational staff, with IT services outsourced in 2003 to IBM using their "Software on Demand" model. As of 2023, the only products available to new customers are savings accounts . Cahoot also provided credit cards until they were closed to new business in 2006. Until October 2009, there
cahoot - Misplaced Pages Continue
2898-508: The banking crisis of 2008, Abbey purchased the savings business and branches of Bradford & Bingley in September 2008 following the nationalisation of B&B by HM Government . The purchase of Alliance & Leicester by Santander had been agreed earlier that month. Abbey migrated all customer accounts to the Partenon computer software used by Santander in June 2008. On 27 October 2008, Abbey reached an agreement to sell Porterbrook to
2967-532: The building societies’ natural market. Between 1951 and 1954, the Conservative government removed building controls and the growth in home ownership and private housebuilding resumed. However, the Society still had little more than a hundred branches and, with the pre-war management still in control, perhaps it was no longer as innovative. Eventually, 1963 saw the departure of the “old guard”: Chairman Harold Bellman died aged 76; Bruce Wycherley, general manager of
3036-485: The interest-free overdraft facility on its current accounts. Cahoot introduced the Faster Payments service on 1 January 2012, the latest date possible under Financial Services Authority regulations. Santander UK Santander UK plc ( UK : / ˌ s æ n t ən ˈ d ɛər , - t æ n -/ , US : / ˌ s ɑː n t ɑː n ˈ d ɛər / ) is a British bank, wholly owned by Banco Santander ,
3105-459: The name at the time) were put into receivership in October 1995. In July 1994, Abbey National purchased James Hay, one of the United Kingdom's foremost independent providers of self administered pensions. James Hay then went on to grow in strength and launched Abbey Wrap, a service in which IFAs can keep the clients' ISAs , PEPs , offshore bonds, and SIPP in one place. Abbey Wrap Managers
3174-455: The national press and opened branches outside the Society’s home area. By 1929, the number of members had exceeded 100,000 and these doubled in the following two years. It was in this inter-war period that Abbey overtook the National in size: in 1918, the National had £1.2m assets against Abbey Road’s £0.8m whereas in 1939 Abbey’s assets totalled £51m against the £36m of the National. In 1932,
3243-479: The ownership of the National’s head office, all the advances were repaid in 1878. The repayment of the British Land loans marked the final break with the old freehold land movement and this was formalized in 1880 when the National incorporated under the Building Societies Act 1874 . This gave it two important advantages: it could act under its own name and it afforded limited liability to its members, probably
3312-505: The purchase of tracts of land and divided them into plots which individuals could purchase, the cost being met by regular subscriptions. The success of the Birmingham Society prompted a flood of other societies around the country, of which the National was one. In 1849 The Metropolitan Freehold Land Society was formed, led by such prominent MPs as Joshua Walmsley , Joseph Hume and above all Richard Cobden . An application
3381-984: The site of the former Thames Television studios in Euston Road ) and its main corporate centre was in Milton Keynes . Its savings and banking administration departments were in Bradford, with mortgage centres in Thornaby-on-Tees and Whiteley (which closed in 2010). Abbey had Banking Contact Centres in Belfast, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Bootle. Business Banking operations, both administrative and telephony, were also based in Glasgow, having been moved from Taunton and Newport early in 2005. Abbey previously operated contact centres in Derby, Liverpool and Gateshead. The Derby and Liverpool centres were closed, as part of
3450-413: The society moved into new headquarters, Abbey House, at 219–229 Baker Street, London, which it occupied until 2002. The site was thought to include 221B Baker Street , the fictional home of Sherlock Holmes , and for many years Abbey employed a secretary charged with answering mail sent to Holmes at that address. WWII brought a cessation to new housebuilding and the building societies preoccupation
3519-474: The town centre. In March 2012, the bank began to reduce the number of duplicate branches, identifying 56 that would close. Staff in the branches selected for closure were moved to other nearby branches. Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank merged into Santander's business banking division, Santander Corporate Banking, in July 2009. On 9 March 2010, Santander sold the investment and asset management business James Hay to IFG Group for £35 million. Later in
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#17327985773083588-452: The website crashing. One case in November 2004 was a security scare, in which it was revealed that customers' accounts could be accessed without going through security procedures, after an update to the online banking system. From 15 to 16 October 2008, the secure section of the Cahoot website became unavailable, due, according to Cahoot, to a power outage in Spain. Although the main page of
3657-492: The website operated normally, it proved impossible for customers to log in to access their savings, leaving them unable to access their accounts and carry out transactions. Call centre staff were also unable to carry out any transactions for customers. Customers were able to access their accounts again normally on 17 October 2008. Prior to the takeover of parent bank Abbey National by Santander, Cahoot recovered from its launch and security issues to achieve over 600,000 accounts, and
3726-604: The year, it was confirmed on 4 August that Santander intended to purchase the branches of The Royal Bank of Scotland in England and Wales, and the branches of NatWest in Scotland as part of a divestment of the business by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group . The deal collapsed on 12 October 2012. Santander had frequently been rated the worst bank for customer service in the United Kingdom, although by July 2011 had sought to improve, notably by returning call centre operations to
3795-493: The “forty shilling freeholders movement”. In country areas, the voting entitlement was dependent on the possession of freehold land with an annual value of £2. This required a capital outlay of some £60-70 and was outside the reach of the average worker. A scheme to obviate this capital requirement was launched in 1847 as the Birmingham Freehold Land Society. In simple terms, the society arranged for
3864-578: Was FSA approved in August 2003. This was relaunched as James Hay Wrap in June 2005. In February 1995, Abbey National Baring Derivatives were taken down along with Barings Bank , due to failures in regulation and control, especially in regards to Nick Leeson of Barings Bank. In the summer of 1995, Abbey National purchased First National Finance Corporation, a consumer credit company, for about £285 million. Two life assurance companies were demutualised and acquired, Scottish Mutual Assurance in 1992 and Scottish Provident in 2001, which enabled Abbey to pursue
3933-416: Was a commonality of directors and staff. The objective was to make the National “more emphatically than it has ever been yet, a Savings Bank and Building Society.” At that point, British Land accounted for two thirds of the National’s advances. The importance of British Land to the National gradually diminished although it was not until 1874 that the proportion fell to below one half; after an internal row over
4002-407: Was also a "Webcard" which generated a one time card number for each online transaction ( controlled payment number ), as a measure to combat card fraud. A flexible loan service was discontinued in the second quarter of 2009 to 2010, and it was later learned that the product's high interest rate (for some 22%) had been 'frozen' and transferred to Santander at some point. The flexible loan was designed as
4071-464: Was announced as the new sponsor of Transport for London 's bicycle hire scheme , branded as Santander Cycles . Santander replaced Barclays as title sponsor. Santander also sponsors other bicycle hire schemes in Leicester and Milton Keynes . Abbey National The Abbey National Building Society was formed in 1944 by the merger of the Abbey Road and the National building societies. It
4140-453: Was established on 11 January 2010, when Abbey National plc was combined with the savings business and branches of Bradford & Bingley plc, and renamed Santander UK plc. Alliance & Leicester plc merged into the renamed business in May 2010. In a March 2020 moneysavingexpert.com poll, customers satisfaction with the levels of customer service ranked Santander second among major high street banks. In October 2011, Moody's downgraded
4209-499: Was eventually required in 1906. However, even after the War, the Abbey Road “was little known outside the borough of Paddington in which it was situated” The catalyst for change was the arrival of Sir Harold Bellman, later a commanding figure in the building society sector. He joined the board of management in 1918 and became Secretary of the Society in 1921. He overhauled every aspect of the operations, introduced improvements, advertised in
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#17327985773084278-412: Was implemented at the beginning of 1944 with Sir Harold Bellman as Chairman and Stanley Ramsey as his deputy. At the time of the merger, Abbey Road was the second largest society and National, the sixth. The post-war Labour government ensured that resources for housing reconstruction was almost entirely concentrated on local authority housing, while stringent controls severely limited the private sector,
4347-480: Was made to register under the 1836 Building Societies Act but the registrar refused to accept the name. Accordingly, the name was changed to The National Permanent Mutual Building Society, with an authorization for it to be commonly called The National Freehold Land Society. Despite the building society registration and formal name, there was no doubt as to the National’s function. The 1852 Prospectus clearly stated that “The special objects of this Society are to facilitate
4416-399: Was marred by the discovery of a large number of undelivered share certificates awaiting destruction at a contractor's premises. Abbey National shares peaked at more than £14 in 2000, before the stock market began a long decline. After losses of at least £243 million, Abbey National decided to sell its estate agency business Cornerstone to two entrepreneurs, Tony Snarey and Bill McClintock, in
4485-410: Was one of the three railway rolling stock operating companies created from by the privatisation of British Rail , leasing rolling stock to the train operating companies in the United Kingdom. The bank launched its online bank, Cahoot, in June 2000. In August 2000 The First National subsidiary purchased Highway Vehicle Management from GUS plc for £170 million. Lloyds TSB attempted to merge with
4554-443: Was renamed Santander UK plc. Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton unveiled the first rebranded Santander branch that day in central London. A further three hundred Abbey and Bradford & Bingley branches in London and south east England were rebranded that day, with branches in the rest of the United Kingdom following by the end of the month, by which time there were 1,045 Santander branches. Alliance & Leicester plc merged into
4623-507: Was shortened to Abbey, the abbey.com domain name launched and the Abbey National umbrella logo dropped. Banking literature was also simplified as part of the programme, labelled 'turning banking on its head'. On 26 July 2004, Abbey National plc and Banco Santander Central Hispano, SA announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended acquisition by Banco Santander of Abbey. Following shareholders' approval at
4692-583: Was supporting mortgage owners and the consequences of bomb damage to properties. By 1943, as the prospect of victory increased, the Government led discussions on post-war reconstruction. The National’s Chairman, Stanley Ramsey, argued that greater scale would be needed to deal with the financial challenges of reconstruction and in 1943 he proposed a merger to the Abbey Road. The merger under the Abbey National Building Society name
4761-407: Was the first building society in the United Kingdom to demutualise , doing so in July 1989. The bank expanded through a number of acquisitions in the 1990s, including James Hay , Scottish Mutual, Scottish Provident and the rail leasing company Porterbrook . Abbey National launched an online bank, Cahoot , in June 2000. In September 2003, the bank rebranded as Abbey, and in November 2004, it became
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