Santander’s name has replaced Abbey National in the UK, but it is still regarded as a newcomer. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Santander will continue its UK expansion by taking over 318 Royal Bank of Scotland branches as early as next week. Today the Spanish bank reported a 10% rise in profit in its British arm. It [...]

Lord Ashcroft: a major donor to the Conservative party. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images The Tories outspent Labour by more than £12m in 2009 as the parties geared up for the general election, according to party accounts published today. The accounts released by the Electoral Commission showed that Conservatives spent £37.1m in 2009 compared with the [...]

Greek truck drivers clash with riot police in Athens. Photograph: John Kolesidis/Reuters The stand-off between striking truck drivers and authorities in Greece intensified today hours after the government issued an emergency order to force protesters back to work. With fuel shortages stranding thousands of tourists and disrupting supplies of food and medicines nationwide, prime minister [...]

Final preparations to a branch of Metro Bank in central London – but the revolution could take some time. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters Is the opening of Metro Bank this morning the start of a revolution in British banking, as claimed by its intriguing founder, Vernon Hill? Metro is making some bold claims, but the high [...]