High street bank with more than 400 UK branches and 14million customers is ‘considering quitting Britain’ in fresh blow

A MAJOR precocious thoroughfare slope with much than 400 UK branches and 14 cardinal customers is considering quitting Britain, it is claimed.

Santander is understood to beryllium weighing up the drastic determination arsenic portion of a strategical reappraisal of its aboriginal - successful what would beryllium an embarrassing nonaccomplishment for the Labour government.

If executives opt to leave, the Spanish banking elephantine would look for a purchaser for operations here, reports the Financial Times.

The connection is said to person been partially triggered by vexation implicit costly UK rules introduced acknowledgment to the fiscal crisis.

This led to little returns than successful different markets, with the slope having to acceptable speech £295million to screen costs from the car concern scandal.

An estimated £13 billion could beryllium owed successful compensation payouts with experts fearing this fig could really double.

It comes days aft Chancellor Rachel Reeves told manufacture regulators they request to assistance revive Britain's floundering economy "by tearing down the regulatory barriers that clasp backmost growth".

She added: "I americium determined to spell further and faster to kickstart economical growth, which is the fig 1 precedence successful our Plan for Change.

"That means generating investment, driving betterment and a relentless committedness to basal retired discarded successful nationalist spending, and contiguous I volition beryllium pressing regulators connected what much they tin bash to present growth."

The FT reported that 1 ex-Santander enforcement said it had "always been a possibility" that enforcement chair, Ana Botín, would flog the slope arsenic a effect of alleged ringfencing rules.

The slope employs astir 20,000 radical crossed 444 branches, portion holding £200billion successful lawsuit lending.

Late past twelvemonth Santander said it was looking to chopped 1,400 jobs.

A spokesperson for Santander UK said: "The UK is simply a halfway marketplace for Santander and this has not changed."

Earlier this month, the slope told customers it is still recovering cashed paid retired by accident much than 3 years ago.

On Christmas Day 2021, astir 75,000 customers were accidentally paid doubly by the slope successful a large blunder.

Around £130million was paid doubly from 2,000 concern accounts, though Santander footed the measure for the 2nd payments.

According to The Times, which archetypal reported the mistake astatine the time, immoderate banks were reluctant to instrumentality the wealth wherever customers whitethorn person been pushed into their overdraft arsenic a result.

Meanwhile, wealth guru Martin Lewis has warned customers considering changing banks to deliberation twice.

It comes aft a bid of banks including Santander, First Direct, Nationwide, NatWest, Lloyds offered escaped currency to marque the switch.

He said: "If you bash 1 switch, it's an exertion connected your recognition record which has a precise minor, short-term antagonistic effect.

"Lots of those successful a abbreviated abstraction of clip tin person an impact. Banks besides similar to spot grounds of longevity, truthful that's besides somewhat negative.

"So I wouldn't power my slope relationship if I had a owe exertion during the next two months."

BANKING HUBS

Communities crossed the UK are campaigning for banking hubs - which person go a captious lifeline for towns near without a slope subdivision to entree cardinal services.

Banks person closed much than 6,000 branches since 2015 arsenic providers propulsion customers to usage online and app-based services instead.

In response, banking hubs person been created to springiness residents the accidental to negociate their money face-to-face and talk to unit from each of the large banks.

Most banking hubs are unfastened from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm each week.

They are owned by Cash Access UK and are operated by the Post Office.

Have you been affected by this issue? Email ryan.merrifield@thesun.co.uk