Jo Crowley MADRID/LONDON (Reuters) -Santander's plan to buy TSB for 2.65 billion pounds ($3.61 billion) and boost its position in the UK came together just a few weeks ago, after the Spanish bank had been weighing a possible exit from Britain,

People are fearing that more banks may close in Cambridgeshire as banking giant Santander is on the brink of buying rival TSB. Analysis of company data shows that there are at least 70 towns and city centres around the UK where both banks currently operate branches less than a mile apart.

Santander is to buy TSB for £2.9bn, creating the UK’s third biggest bank, in a move that threatens to wipe out one of the UK’s oldest banking brands from the High Street.