Banco Santander confirms bid for RBS branches

LONDON (AP) - Banco Santander has confirmed that it has made a bid for some 300 bank branches being sold by Royal Bank of Scotland.

News reports say the Spanish bank is the only bidder in the chase for the RBS branches in England and Wales and its NatWest offices in Scotland.

Santander reportedly offered between 1.5 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) and 1.8 billion pounds for the business.

RBS would not comment on details of the offer following Santander's annoncement on Friday.

RBS has until 2013 to complete a sale, and says there is still room for a new bidder.