Santanders UK Savings Brands Launches New Issue Fixed Rate Bonds

LEICESTER, England, December 2 - 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
GBP20 a month up to GBP250 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 GBP10,000.

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 worlds 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only and may be withdrawn without notice, so we would encourage people to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) 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(
www.santander.co.uk/) 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(
www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/mortgages/index.aspx) and savings (
www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/savings/index.aspx) products, and
Bradford & Bingley. Together they have over 1300 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
www.santander.co.uk

The Bradford & Bingley logo is a trade mark of Bradford & Bingley plc and
is used under licence.

Media Enquiries : Susan Hannums Tel: +44(0)20-7756-4190;, Louisa Dreja Tel: +44(0)20-7756-4211, The press office operates from 8.00am to 6.00pm. Outside of these hours, please call +44(0)800-5877708.