Santander has announced plans to rebrand Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley savings under it's own name next year.
The Spanish
banking giant says it will start with Abbey and B&B savings as early as the first quarter of 2010, with A&L to follow later in the year.
António Horta-Osório, chief executive of Santander's UK Businesses, believes bringing together the three brands will make it easier for customers to manage their finances as they will have access to over 1,300 branches once the change is complete.
“With this in mind, the time is right to make the move to a single UK identity as Santander,” adds Horta-Osório.
Credit cards first to change
Santander says the first of the brand changes will take place in the second half of 2009, when Abbey Credit Cards will be re-branded Santander.
All new cards will be issued under the Santander name, as will replacement cards as they come up for renewal.
Later in the year, Abbey and A&L's corporate and commercial bank will also be renamed Santander, and the 20 regional banking centres will operate under the new identity.
How will things change?
What will be interesting to see is how the customer's of each separate bank will be affected by the amalgamation.
So far we have already seen A&L
current account holders lose out, with the bank's top paying offer falling from 6.5% to 5%, while Abbey customers have been pleased to see the institution's best current account increase by a similar amount to 5%.
And what about Abbey's almost
legendary reputation for customer satisfaction? Will A&L and B&B customers suffer a dip in service, or will Abbey customers finally get the support they've been longing for?
Competition will also be a casualty
"Consumers will need to keep their eyes peeled to see how this will affect them, as there can be no doubt the consolidation process will leave some casualties,” says Moneysupermarket
banking head Kevin Mountford.
“Individually, Alliance & Leicester, Bradford & Bingley and Abbey all offered some well priced, good value products that challenged the big four clearing banks.
“However, when all the brands are combined under Santander we must expect there to be a reduction in choice and competition on the high street.”
Don't get caught out by changes in compensation
Another important issue to keep an eye on is the level of cover provided by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme following the rebranding.
You see, Santander is currently operating under two separate banking licences – one for Abbey, B&B and Cahoot, the other for A&L – meaning your savings are protected up to £50,000 under each licence.
However, they will likely all fall under the same licence by next summer, so anyone holding more than £50,000 under the entire group will need to have moved the necessary amount of savings by then.
