The Alliance and Leicester is giving a GBP100 incentive to customers going online and switching to their Premier Current Account from a competitor.
New customers who have moved from a different bank to the Alliance and Leicester will also receive free European travel insurance, an agreed overdraft for the first 12 months with no set up cost and a PlusSaver account that is linked to the current account, paying interest at 5.25 percent AER.
The idea behind the promotion by the Alliance and Leicester is to show consumers how moving bank accounts can work in their favour. With a seamless move across customers will find the whole process quick, easy and profitable.
According to a Natwest Bank survey the people of Manchester are the biggest spenders in the UK, with the typical household spending GBP26,000 each year.
This spending figure is a full GBP2,000 more than the capital city, London, which will come as a big surprise to many. What may come as an even bigger surprise is that Manchester is also a great city for saving according to the Natwest Bank survey, with a higher than the national average 53 percent of Manchester residents putting money aside.
A spokesman from the Natwest Bank was pleased to see Manchester setting such a good example with their levels of savings, especially considering their spending habits. They should be seen as a shining example to others said the spokesman.
British bank Alliance and Leicester is to be bought by Santander according to an announcement stating an agreement had been reached between the two parties.
The purchase price is understood to be GBP1.26 billion, the transaction to be made in shares. Santander will give one of their shares for every three Alliance and Leicester ones, giving the shares a value of 299 pence each which is around 33 percent higher than the share value at the close of business last week.
Interestingly, although the Alliance and Leicester as well as many other UK and international banks have suffered on the back of the credit crunch Santander have had a very good year. They have seen good returns from Latin America it appears and this has enabled them to look at acquisitions such as this one.
