Santander
As well as providing banking services to the general public, Santander won the prestigious Moneyfacts Business Bank of the Year 2016 for the support the bank provides for small to medium sized start-up and established businesses. It also offers Corporate and Commercial Banking to larger sized enterprises.
Although a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group, Santander UK plc is a British bank, run autonomously with its own management team. It is a leading UK personal financial services provider and among the largest providers of mortgages and savings.
With around 20,000 employees and 14 million customers Santander has 50 corporate business centres and more than 1,000 branches.
The bank was established in January 2010 when the two building societies Abbey National plc and Bradford & Bingley plc were combined. Alliance & Leicester plc then merged with the new Santander business in May 2010.
Among the services Santander offers customers are
- Fixed and variable rate mortgages
- Overdrafts from £500 to £25,000
- Short-term financing to manage unexpected expenses
- Credit cards
- Working Capital Loans, with an approved limit of up to £100,000
- Small Business Loans of between £2,000 and £25,000, for repaying over up to five years
- Asset Finance
- Corporate & Commercial Lending
Santander is one of a select few lenders who allow remortgages within six months. It also offers a free standard valuation on a selection of its products. However, it does have a minimum income requirement of £25,000 per year and requires all applicants to be at least 21 years old.
