LONDON – Banco Santander SA, Spain’s largest bank and the parent of Philadelphia-based Sovereign Bank, is among at least four parties interested in 318 branch offices that Royal Bank of Scotland is selling off in the United Kingdom to satisfy European Union regulators, according to Bloomberg News.
RBS created the network of branches under the Williams & Glyn brand starting in 1970, bringing them under the RBS name in 1985. RBS has a total of 2,250 branches in the U.K.
Other institutions besides Banco Santander interested in acquiring a ready-made branch network, according to Bloomberg, are National Australia Bank Ltd., Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and Virgin Money Ltd. Deadline for the bids was 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Additionally, RBS is selling a card-payment processing business and other assets, as it shrinks its operations in an effort to counteract the massive losses of 2009.
