PLANS by banking group Abbey to open up to 100 branches across the UK could create hundreds of jobs in the region.

The company, which is owned by Spanish banking group Santander, has 714 branches but hopes to open more in the North-East and Midlands.

Santander chief executive Alfredo Saenz said the Abbey business could gain dozens of branches, with more being relocated.

A spokeswoman said yesterday: "This plan is still in its very early stages. It won't happen for at least two years.

"In the medium term, we have aspirations to increase our number of branches. We have not decided the number or the timescale."

Abbey employs an average of eight to ten people in each branch. The business has a strong presence in the South-East and North-West, but is less well represented in the North-East.

The expansion plan emerged two weeks after Santander reported further signs of a trading recovery at the UK business it returned to the black last year.

Santander acquired Abbey National for £9.5bn in November 2004 and last year turned losses of £21m, in 2004, into profits of £596m. Figures for the first three months of this year revealed an "excellent" start to 2006, with trading profits benefiting from good growth in revenues and lower operating expenses following hundreds of job cuts.

In national newspaper reports yesterday, Mr Saenz played down speculation that the Spanish bank was considering a takeover bid for another British bank.