Santander bids for RBS branches

Santander said it was not possible to say when the tender process will end.

It is the only bidder for the network of branches, worth around 1.8bn.

Santander, the euro zone's biggest bank, would get a significant boost to the size of its business in Britain with the purchase, adding 1.8 million retail customers and five per cent of the British small and medium size business market.

"We have made an offer for the offices of RBS which fit like a glove," deputy chairman Matias Rodriguez Inciarte said.

Santander has got the best ranking so far in European bank stress tests. The European Union has agreed to carry out more transparent checks of its top banks' financial health as part of measures to convince investors it can contain a euro zone debt crisis.

The bank has diversified away from its home market, economically stagnant Spain, to the US, Latin America and Britain.

Santander bought British lender Abbey in 2004 and has since added Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley.

The deal will give the Spanish bank about 1,645 branches, or 12 per cent of the market, and consolidate its position as the second biggest home loan provider.

The bank said last week 2010 earnings should be similar to 2009's strong performance and unveiled a $2.5 billion buyout of its Mexican division.