New Santander branch officially opened

Friday, 02 May 2014

Santander UK CEO Ana Botin and Vice-Chancellor Sir David Bell cutting the ribbon

The Santander University of Reading branch has been officially opened by Santander UK CEO Ana Botin and Vice-Chancellor Sir David Bell.

Ms Botin cut the ribbon on the new branch on Whiteknights campus, followed by a question-and-answer session with students and staff.

Since signing a formal agreement with the University in 2012, Santander has invested more than £150,000 in Reading including:

• Four £4,000 postgraduate scholarships from Latin America
• An annual elite summer training camp for the University's rowers in Banyoles, near Girona, Spain - 32 students have just returned from this year's camp
• A weeklong Summer Start-Up Boot Camp run by the Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship - 32 would-be entrepreneurs took part last year with over half going on to start their own business. The scheme will run again in June
• Part-funded internships; two mobility scholarships; and a Formula Santander Scholarship.

Reading is one of 72 UK universities to have signed agreements with Santander Universities Division.

Vice-Chancellor Sir David Bell said: "The branch marks Santander's ongoing commitment to the University. The partnership has provided life-changing funding to students across our institution. We look forward to working together for years to come."

The Whiteknights branch is open to staff, students and members of the public, 10am-6pm Monday to Friday. It includes full banking services including cash and cheque withdrawals; cash and cheque deposits; payment and telegraphic transfers; account servicing; account opening; and an ATM machine.