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Santander becomes first major UK bank to hire graduates with a third class degree

SANTANDER
SANTANDER

Santander is to become the first major bank in Britain to hire graduates with a third class degree in an effort to boost diversity.

The Spanish lender, which has a large network of branches in the UK, will drop its requirement for graduate recruits to achieve at least a 2.1 degree as it attempts to increase the socioeconomic diversity of its workforce.

The bank said the move would open its programme to 64,000 more people every year, adding that performance at university does not guarantee success in the workplace.

Anouska Ramsay, Santander’s HR director, said: “Academic achievement is important, but it is only one of many factors we look at when searching for new talent.

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“We believe potential can be found anywhere and this move reinforces our commitment to finding the best candidates from a wide range of backgrounds.”

It comes after other City firms, including consulting giant PwC and asset manager Schroders, scrapped similar academic requirements for graduate staff last year. However, Santander is the first UK bank to implement such a policy.

The decision to relax hiring requirements also comes amid a tight squeeze in Britain's labour market.

Around 16pc of students who leave university graduate with a 2:2 degree or a third, Santander said. The move will therefore open up to thousands of new potential candidates as applications open later this month.

Santander’s graduate programme gives new joiners experience across a number of the bank’s business areas including audit, corporate and commercial banking, cyber, everyday banking, and finance and risk.

Ms Ramsay added: “This is an important development to widen our recruitment criteria. Those that join us can expect to build a foundation for working in finance and grow their career path within the bank.”

Last month, Santander was fined £108m by the City watchdog after it found serious and persistent gaps in the bank’s anti-money laundering safeguards.

Around £300m passed through Santander accounts over a five-year period, potentially by criminals taking advantage of its “inadequate” controls, the Financial Conduct Authority said.