Santander closes third party outlets

The bank said it had identified a number of “financial challenges” in maintaining its third party network, in which businesses such as estate agents and insurance brokers provide limited banking services under licence and Santander’s branding.

In Yorkshire, there are 20 of these businesses, serving a total of 15,000 customers.

The decision comes as Santander is investing £300m in its UK branches, including refurbishments and new branch openings.

A spokesman said the strategic review highlighted the investment needed to bring the agencies up to the level required of a full service branch in the future.

He added that Santander will be working with each of the agency owners to exit from the agreement.

Steve Pateman, head of UK banking at Santander, said: “With enhancements in mobile banking, internet capability and the improvements we have made to our proprietary branches, we have a distribution capability that allows our customers to bank with us, in the way they want, when they want.

“Part of enabling customers to choose how they deal with us, is making sure that all of our retail branches offer full banking.”

He added: “Consolidating our operations, following (the) announcement, is a vital next step for Santander, allowing us to concentrate on further enhancements and investment in our proprietary branch network, including branch openings and refurbishments.”