New rules forcing banks to hold more cash to protect against future financial crises have been blamed by Santander UK for a nine per cent fall in the bank’s profits .

Santander, which includes the former branch and savings business of Bradford & Bingley and has a major operations centre in Bradford city centre, warned the impact is likely to be felt until 2013.

In contrast, Yorkshire Bank has increased underlying profits by four per cent and exceeded its target for new lending set two years ago.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire Bank helped boost parent group National Australia Bank’s pre-tax profits in the UK by nearly 50 per cent to £237 million in the year to September 30, partly through attracting more smaller firms as customers. See Friday's T&A for the full story