History

Alliance & Leicester Group can trace its origins back to 1852 with the formation of the Leicester Permanent Benefit Society. Alliance & Leicester then resulted from a merger in 1985 between the Alliance Building Society (formally Brighton & Sussex) and the Leicester Building Society. In 1990 the group acquired Girobank, a large provider of cash-handling services to the government and large companies and current accounts from the Post Office.

Then in 1997, Alliance & Leicester officially became a bank and was floated on the London Stock Exchange which generated large payments to members worth up to £5,000 each. It was listed on the FTSE 250 Index, being previously a FTSE 100 constituent as a mutual building society from April 1997 to June 2008. In 2008, they accepted a takeover bid from Banco Santander and it took effect in October 2008. And in May 2010, Alliance & Leicester was legally acquired by Santander UK and it will be fully incorporated by the end of 2010 along with the former Bradford & Bingley savings business.

Under Santander, Alliance & Leicester offers a full range of financial services to personal and commercial customers and is still one of the UK's major financial services groups. The four business sectors include mortgage lending and investments, personal banking, commercial banking, and treasury. They provide general insurance, life assurance, unit trusts, personal and current accounts, and credit cards, asset financing and commercial lending. The main retail business in the UK remains mortgage loans, current accounts, savings and personal loans. They want to expand their commercial operations.

Since the takeover, their credit cards have now been converted to Santander Cards Limited. Some investment products are still available a partnership that Alliance & Leicester operated with Legal & General. Their international subsidiary based on the Isle of Man, will also be rebranded by Santander in the near future. Their vision is to behave ethically, through their employees and with their companys decisions. Their continued success depends on earnings and retaining the publics trust. They strongly rely on preserving their reputation with their customers, their employees, their business partners, and the greater community.

Remortgages offered through Alliance & Leicester

Since the merger with Santander, all remortgages are now offered through them. This includes:

• 5 Year discount
• Easy Step Mortgage
• Base Rate Tracker
• Base Rate Tracker Term
• Fixed Rate

5 Year Discount: the rate will be set as the standard variable rate for the first 5 years. After the discount period has lapsed, the mortgage will then revert to stanndard variable rate for the rest of the mortgage term. There is an early repayment charge during the discount period. This mortgage product is flexible and allows overpayments, underpayments and payment holidays as long as requirements are met. Money can be borrowed back as well. Arrangement fees are incurred and there may be a cash back offer.

Easy Step Mortgage: the rate is a discounted rate from the standard variable rate for the first 2 years. It will then be set just above the Bank of England base rate for 1 year. After the discount period has terminated, the rate will change to the standard variable rate for the rest of the mortgage term. There is an early repayment charge if you payout early. This mortgage product is flexible and also allows overpayments, underpayments and payment holidays. You can borrow back money, there is a set up fee and you may qualify for cash back.

Base Rate Tracker: the initial rate is set just below the Bank of England base rate. After the tracker period is over, it will revert to the Bank of England base rate + 0.75% for the rest of the mortgage term. There is an early repayment charge during the tracker period. This mortgage product is flexible and allows overpayments, underpayments and payment holidays. You can borrow money back, an arrangement fee is applicable and you may qualify for cash back. There is also an option to take a higher rate so there are no fees.

Base Rate Tracker Term: the rate is just above the Bank of England base rate for the entire term of the mortgage. There is no early repayment charge. This mortgage product is flexible and allows overpayments, underpayments, and payment holidays. You can borrow money back too. An arrangement fee is applicable and you may qualify for cash back.

Fixed Rate: the initial rate is fixed for an agreed period - 2, 3, and 5 years. After the fixed rate period is over the mortgage will revert to the Bank of England base rate +0.75%. There is an early repayment charge during the fixed period. This mortgage product is flexible and allows overpayments, underpayments and payment holidays. You can borrow money back too. There is also a 10% overpayment facility. An arrangement fee is applicable and you may qualify for cash back.

Alliance and Leicester also have the following offers:

Fixed Rate Fee Saver: the initial rate is fixed for an agreed period of 2, 3 or 5 years. After the fixed rate period is over the mortgage will revert to the Bank of England base rate +0.95%. There is an early repayment charge during the fixed period. This mortgage product is flexible and allows overpayments, underpayments and payment holidays. You can borrow money back too. There is also a 10% overpayment facility. An arrangement fee is applicable and you may qualify for cash back. Remortgage customers can choose between a free mortgage transfer or cash back.

First Step Mortgage: the initial rate is fixed for a 3 year period. After the fixed rate period is over the mortgage will revert to the Bank of England base rate +0.95% for the remainder of the term. There is an early repayment charge during the fixed period. There is no arrangement fee. Get 2% off mortgage as cashback on completion. There is a 10% overpayment facility.

Standard Variable Rate: the mortgage will be set at the standard variable rate for the entire term. There is no early repayment charge. There is no arrangement fee. You can borrow as much as 95% LTV.