Santander in mortgage push with overdraft fillip

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Santander, which owns Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley's mortgage business, said it was laying down a challenge to "the existing incumbent UK banks" by launching its Zero Current Account. The move coincides with the rebranding of all its UK businesses under the Santander name, which will be completed by the end of next year, and comes a week before the House of Lords ruling on whether UK banks have been illegally overcharging customers who are overdrawn.

"Our new approach is based on simplicity: the more business you do with us the more we will offer you in return," chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said.

"We can only deliver on our promises because we are the UK's most efficient bank and have the backing of one of the world's best retail banks."

The new account has no fees for overdrafts whether authorised or not, pays interest of 6% in the first year on cash balances up to £2500 and charges 12.9% on overdrafts.

It will first be available to Santander's two million mortgage customers although the bank is clearly keen to win more mortgage business from its 25 million UK customers.

It said that the Zero account was the first of a series of products it plans to launch to build market share.