LEICESTER, England, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Wednesday 2 December, Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley are launching a new range of Fixed Rate Bonds, available to both new and existing customers. For those customers who want a guaranteed rate of interest but don't want to lock their money away for the long term, the rate on our One Year Fixed Rate Bond has been increased to pay up to 3.00 per cent (previously 2.75 per cent). Reza Attar-Zadeh, Director of Savings and Investments, said: "We're pleased to offer these increased rates and believe that this bond provides excellent value for customers looking for a fixed income. This new bond complements our competitive range of fixed rate savings which continues to include our 2 Year Fixed Rate bond paying 4.00 per cent gross/AER and our one year fixed rate Fixed Rate Monthly Saver, a regular savings account also paying 4.00 per cent gross/AER, allowing savers to put aside as little as GBP 20 a month up to GBP 250 a month." Our Two Year Fixed Rate Bond offer has been extended to allow more customers to take advantage of the 4.00 per cent gross/AER offered for balances over GBP 10,000. Reza Attar-Zadeh continued, "We remain committed to offering competitive savings accounts to help people save and plan for their future and with the backing of Santander, one of the world's largest banks, savers have peace of mind and confidence when saving with us." Customers can apply for the fixed rate bonds either by visiting any local branch of Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, by visiting the official websites or by contacting Abbey by telephone on 0800 234 6065. These fixed rate accounts are available for a limited time only and may be withdrawn without notice, so we would encourage people to open one without delay. The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions. About Us Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) (NYSE:SBP) is a retail and commercial bank, based in Spain, with operations in more than 40 countries. At the end of 2008, Santander was the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization and third in the world by profit. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1,168 billion in managed funds at the end of 2008. Following the acquisition of Sovereign Bancorp of the U.S. in January 2009, Santander has 90 million customers, more than 14,000 branches - more than any other international bank - and over 180,000 employees. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America, with leading positions in the United Kingdom and Portugal and a broad presence in Europe through its Santander Consumer Finance arm. In 2008, Santander registered EUR 8,876 million in net attributable profit, an increase of 9% from the previous year excluding capital gains. In the UK, Santander operates three retail businesses - Abbey, Alliance & Leicester who provide competitive mortgages and savings products, and Bradford & Bingley. Together they have over 1,300 branches, around 4,500 cash machines and they provide a full range of retail and corporate banking services to 24 million customers. Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and the savings business of Bradford & Bingley will all become known as Santander by the end of 2010. Abbey and the savings business of Bradford & Bingley will be rebranded from the first quarter of 2010 and Alliance & Leicester will follow later in the year. The move will deliver a significant advantage for customers as they will be able to use any of 1,000 Santander branches from early 2010, rising to over 1,300 by the end of 2010. For more information, please visit http://www.santander.co.uk/ The Bradford & Bingley logo is a trade mark of Bradford & Bingley plc and is used under licence. DATASOURCE: Santander CONTACT: Susan Hannums, 020 7756 4190, or Louisa Dreja, 020 7756 4211; The press office operates from 8.00am to 6.00pm. Outside of these hours please call 0800 5877708. Web Site: http://www.santander.co.uk/

Copyright