Critical Evaluation of the Financial Performance of Santander UK PLC

Master's Thesis from the year 2015 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, grade: 2.1, BPP University (Business School), course: MSc Accounting and Finance, language: English, abstract: The aim of this report is to analyse the financial performances of Santander UK plc to investigate the reasons behind their consistent performance over the last few years whereas other banks and financial institutions are suffering to maintain their profit margin. Santander Group is a Spanish bank centred on Banco Santander which is being around from 1857. It has been founded mostly in family ownership and now being broadened to become a global bank. In terms of market value, it is the largest bank in Eurozone and also a leading bank in terms of market capitalization. Santander Group entered into the UK through the acquisition of Abbey National plc approved by the courts in November 2004. In 2008 it has also acquired Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley savings business. Alliance & Leicester plc transferred to Santander UK in January 2009. Abbey Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester rebranded as Santander. The bank offers a wide range of corporate, business personal, personal accounts including credit products, mortgages, savings and investments. It provides online banking services, including mobile apps. Santander also provides mortgages for Intermediaries through a division of Santander UK plc which is used by the brokers. The bank is approved by the Prudential Regulation Authority. It is regulated through the Prudential Regulation Authority as well as by the Financial Conduct Authority. It is a member of the UK Payments Administration, Financial Services Compensation Scheme, Bankers' Automated Clearing Services (BACS), the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company, the Faster Payments Service, the British Bankers' Association and the (CHAPS) which is stand for Clearing House Automated Payment System. The reason for the research on Santander UK plc is that the banking is an industry always attracts me to research because it is my desired place to work and I have chosen Santander because of its robust financial performance over the past few years. Since the global recession in 2008 many banks have been limiting their activities and closing down their branches, but Santander has been continuing to expand their business. Moreover, I want to utilize my knowledge and skills I have gained during my MSc program especially Business Analysis, Financial Management and Corporate reporting modules. Some of my favourite theories and models I can implement very well during research on Santander.