The Times reported the Spanish bank has put in a new bid to take Williams and Glyn (W&G) from RBS.
After the financial crash in 2008 RBS was ordered to divest its interest in W&G by the end of 2017 as part of its £45bn state bailout.
However, offloading W&G has been plagued with setbacks with Santander initially putting in a bid in 2012 but then walked away due to concerns over RBS’s IT system.
Then earlier this year the bank put in another bid to acquire W&G, but talks collapsed because of a dispute over the price.
Santander’s newest bid is not without competition as Clydesdale & Yorkshire Bank Group (CYBG) expressed interest in acquiring W&G last month.
Despite this, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has since stepped in to review the deal, suggesting it could harm CYBG and have appointed investment bankers to properly assess the risks involved.
Santander refused to confirm the bid but provided this statement: “Whilst our focus is organic growth, we will continue to analyse opportunities in our 10 core markets where they add value and benefit to our customers and shareholders. That said, we do not comment on rumours or market speculation.”
