Abbey International Ramps Up Rates on 2-Year Escalator

ST. HELIER, Jersey, November 16 - Abbey International - www.abbeyinternational.com - has increased
rates on its 2-Year Escalator Bond by 0.5% to give a top rate of 4.25%
gross/AER in the second year of the account's life.

The 2-Year Escalator Bond is a limited edition account paying 3.75%
gross/AER fixed in its first year rising to 4.25% gross/AER fixed in its
second year. The offer will be withdrawn when fully subscribed.

A good option for savers wanting a safe home for their savings, the new
account has a minimum balance requirement of GBP100,000 which is not
currently held with Abbey International. To qualify, prospective clients need
to have opened, or be in the process of opening a sterling Gold account.
Interest is received after 12 months, and again upon maturity of the account,
when both capital and interest are paid into the Gold account.

Abbey International is part of the highly regarded Santander Group, which
has more than 150 years experience in banking and has clients all over the
world. Santander has an AA credit rating from Fitch and Aa2 rating from
Moody's credit rating agencies.

For further information on banking with Abbey International in
Jersey call +44(0)1534-828-828 or log onto www.abbeyinternational.com

For media use only and not to be relied on by consumers to make financial
decisions.

Notes to Editors:

Abbey International is located in Jersey, a secure,
well-established and politically stable financial centre, which is renowned
internationally for its high standards of regulation. Jersey's unique
constitution and relationship with the British Crown dates back hundreds of
years. This provides for a unique legal and neutral tax system that can
provide significant wealth planning opportunities for the international
investor.

Abbey international has a minimum balance entry requirement of
GBP50,000 (or currency equivalent) across our portfolio of products. The
minimum balance amount can be spread across a range of accounts, subject to
the minimum opening deposit for each account being met.

All deposits carry the full and unconditional guarantee of Abbey National
plc, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of the Santander Group.

Santander has more than 150 years' experience in banking and more
branches worldwide than any other international bank.

Abbey and Santander

Banco Santander, S.A., (SAN.MC, STD.N), headquartered in
Madrid, engages primarily in commercial banking with complementary activities
in global wholesale banking, cards, asset management and insurance. Santander
had over EUR 1.079 trillion in funds under management at Sept. 30, 2008, from
more than 80 million customers* served through more than 13,000 branches -
more branches than any other international bank. Founded in 1857, Santander
is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America and has a
significant presence in Western Europe and in the United Kingdom, through its
Abbey subsidiary. In the first nine months of 2008, Santander registered
EUR6,935 million in attributable net profit, an increase of 16% from 2007,
excluding capital gains.

In Latin America, (excluding Banco Real) Santander manages
over US$200 billion in business volumes (loans, deposits, mutual funds,
pension funds and managed funds) through 4,638 branches. In the first nine
months of 2008, (excluding Banco Real) Santander reported EUR 2,167 million
in net attributable income in Latin America.

* Includes, Alliance & Leicester, Bradford & Bingley savings and Banco
Real.

For more information, see www.santander.com.

Media Contacts: Guy Stephenson/Jennifer Duffy, Nacelle Ltd, +44(0)20-8333-9125, gstephenson at nacelle.co.uk ; Jane Matthews, Abbey International, Head of Client Experience, +44(0)1534-828137, Jane.matthews at abbeyinternational.com .