Santander deal ‘lost chance to break hold of big five’ - Herald Scotland | Business | Corporate & SME

Santander deal ‘lost chance to break hold of big five’ - Herald Scotland | Business | Corporate & SME: "The sale of 318 Royal Bank of Scotland branches was an “opportunity lost” to break the hold of Britain’s big five banks on the small business lending market, Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia has told MPs.

Virgin Money, which is majority owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, was among the banks competing for the chain after European competition officials told RBS to sell it in return for state aid. In August Spanish bank Santander agreed a deal to pay £1.65 billion for the branches.

Meanwhile, Santander UK’s new chief executive Ana Patricia Botin said the removal of a key funding scheme for banks will reduce the cash available to lend to small businesses.

Ms Gadhia described the dominance of the UK’s five biggest high street institutions HSBC, Barclays, RBS, Lloyds and Santander as an “oligopoly” and a barrier to competition and consumer choice in the UK."

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