Abbey National yesterday welcomed the appointment of a Spanish banker at its helm as Santander Central Hispano (SCH) outlined its plans for the banking giant.

The takeover of Abbey National cleared a major hurdle today after shareholders in Spanish bank Santander Central Hispano (SCH) voted to approve the deal.

Abbey National today welcomed the appointment of a Spanish banker at its helm as Santander Central Hispano (SCH) outlined its plans for the banking giant.

Directors of banking giant Abbey National faced a barrage of criticism yesterday from shareholders angry at the decision to sell out to Spain’s largest bank.

Abbey National shareholders are set to mark the end of an era when they give their backing to a takeover by Spain’s largest bank today.

Abbey National’s army of small shareholders were today given an easier route to selling shares in the company’s proposed new Spanish owner.

London shares lost momentum today following earlier euphoria over the decision by HBOS to resist making a bid for Abbey National.

Halifax-to-Bank of Scotland group HBOS today said it had pulled out of a potential takeover battle for Abbey National.

Interest rates dominated the thinking of investors on both sides of the Atlantic today as London shares spent a second day in the red.

Spanish bank Santander Central Hispano today pledged to give up its two boardroom seats at Royal Bank of Scotland if it lands Abbey National.

A string of corporate updates failed to lift the London market into positive territory today after a downbeat performance on Wall Street.

BANKING group HBOS yesterday stayed silent on claims that its bosses will meet this week to finalise plans for a £10 billion bid for Abbey National.

Banking group HBOS today stayed silent on claims that its bosses will meet this week to finalise plans for a £10bn (€14.7bn) bid for Abbey National.

London shares achieved a two-month high today on the back of a decent showing by banks and oil stocks.

The Spanish bank bidding to buy Abbey National insisted today that a rival offer from UK group HBOS would not necessarily derail its interest.

Spain’s Santander Central Hispano (BSCH) says it will cut about 3,000 jobs at takeover target Abbey National to cut costs if the deal is approved.

Around 3,000 jobs will be lost at Abbey National if the UK bank’s takeover by Spain’s Santander Central Hispano (SCH) goes ahead, it emerged today.

Abbey National staff were today expected to discover how many jobs will go in the bank’s planned takeover by Spanish group Santander Central Hispano (SCH).

British bank HBOS reiterated it may bid for Abbey National as it prepares to meet the British mortgage lender’s biggest shareholder.

EXPLOSIONS hit two Spanish coastal cities yesterday after a newspaper received a warning in the name of armed Basque separatist group ETA.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain’s second-largest bank by assets, may make a bid for Abbey National Plc, which Santander Central Hispano agreed to buy last month for about £8.2 billion (€12.3 billion), the Observer newspaper reported.

Shares in Barclays surged by as much as 10% today after speculation of a bid from US financial giant Citigroup swept through the London market.

Abbey National today confirmed it was in advanced talks to sell a business that provides mortgages to Britons looking to set up home in France.

News of soaring profits at banking giant HSBC sent investors piling into the stock today despite poorer fortunes for the wider London market.

The board of Abbey National Bank said today it had reached agreement on a takeover offer from Santander Central Hispano, Spain's largest bank.

Shares in banking group Abbey were leading the stock market today after a report claimed it had received an informal takeover approach from a Spanish bank.

Argentina’s economy minister announced a sharp devaluation of the peso, overriding foreign investors’ concerns and ending a decade-long policy pegging the currency one-to-one with the US dollar.