The ratings on Abbey National PLC (Abbey) are based on its position in the Banco Santander group (Santander; AA/Negative/A-1+), and its solid business and financial profile. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services believes that Abbey's business diversity and market position have improved following Santander's October 2008 acquisition of Alliance&Leicester PLC (A&L; AA/Negative/A-1+), but remains more limited than the top tier of U.K. banking peers. While we do not expect Abbey to remain immune from the adverse economic and market environment in the U.K., we consider the bank to be relatively well positioned compared with many U.K. peers and therefore expect resilient performance over the coming year. Abbey is a midsize commercial and retail bank, the fifth-largest in the U.K.
