Santander Central Hispano, the Spanish banking group looking to take over Abbey (formerly Abbey National), has issued a pledge that if their bid is successful they will introduce new mortgage and investment products that will be cheaper than UK ones sighting technology as their edge. They have issued a "challenge" and pledged to deliver better products than HBOS (the huge Halifax Bank of Scotland Group).
Our view
Muy bueno! Pero cuando? Very good! But when?
Regulation in Spain by the CNMV is nowhere near as complex or as well enforced as the Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules in the UK. It will be interesting to see how a Spanish higher management structure gets to grips with competitive products the UK's (and the World's) probably most fierce and competitive market.
We wish them the very best and welcome all new ideas from Europe.