Banco Santander (LSE:BNC) UK made a formal complaint over a Nationwide Building Society advert which parodies a bank boss who mocks his customers, deciding to close branches in a bid to cut costs.
Back in October, a Nationwide advert was released featuring The Crown and The Wire actor Dominic West as a greedy executive, who shows little care in shutting down branches to cut costs.
When a colleague notes that Nationwide branches are still open, West’s character responds “We’re not Nationwide, are we?”
Soon after the release of the advert, Santander reported it to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), arguing it was misleading and discrediting and denigrating of Nationwide’s rivals.
The ASA confirmed it was investigating the complaint, with Nationwide adding it was also aware of the claim.
Santander declined to comment on the issue.
Hundreds of bank branches have closed since the pandemic, with the Spanish bank having shuttered seven of its sites during 2023 alone.
Lloyds, Barclays and Natwest also closed branches last year, the cause largely being customers switching to online services.
In contrast, Nationwide made a “branch promise” which will see it keep all of its sites open until at least 2026 unless the closure is driven by “circumstances outside of our control”.