Staff at Abbey National are braced for fresh job losses after the bank's Spanish owner intensified efforts to turn around its performance.

Santander Central Hispano did not put a figure on the job cuts but insisted they would not be "of the magnitude experienced in 2005" when at least 4,000 positions were eliminated.

Around £200 million will be now be saved from the restructuring at Abbey - twice the amount expected by Santander when it clinched a £9.5bn takeover in November last year.

The comments on headcount come after Santander upped its target for job cuts from 3,000 to around 4,000 at its first-quarter results in May.

Abbey chief executive Francisco Gomez-Roldan said good strides were being made in restoring the fortunes of the bank, but there was a "long way to go" before sales and efficiency goals set out at the time of the takeover would be hit.

In an update on trading between July and September, Abbey said gross mortgage lending totalled £8.1bn - up 21 per cent on the previous three months - and its market share improved to 10 per cent.

Gains were also enjoyed in savings during a quarter when unsecured personal loans rose 31 per cent compared with the previous three months, the bank said.