Santander Central Hispano won permission from the European Commission today to press ahead with its agreed £8.7 billion pound takeover of British bank Abbey National.
"The deal raises no competition concerns since the two banks presently operate mostly in different countries," the Commission said in a statement.
The Commission said that when Banco Santander notified the European Union executive of the deal it said that it had agreed with the Royal Bank of Scotland to terminate several aspects of a 1998 alliance.
"One such aspect concerns the reciprocal representation on each other's boards, or cross-directorships," the Commission said. It said the agreement to amend the alliance was taken into account by the Commission in its review.
Spain's biggest bank agreed an equity-based deal with Abbey in July, currently worth 586 pence per share.
Earlier in the day, Santander claimed victory in its bid after British bank HBOS backed out of the race.