GOOD news came Liverpool's way at the weekend, with the announcement that a major bank is set to create 200 new jobs.

Yes, a bank trading in the UK wanting, needing, to take on new staff to fulfil its expansion programme.

That is not the sort of positive story or profile we have been used to seeing or hearing in this sector in recent months.

What is particularly interesting about the news is that it underlines a yawning gap between those getting the way they do business right, and those getting it wrong.

The major high street players have been in survival mode since the sector was riven by crisis around three years ago.

But not so Santander – the Spanish-based giant creating those new jobs here (not to mention another 100 each in Glasgow and Leicester).

It has spent a lot of time and money acquiring a significant foothold in the UK high street Šthrough purchases of the established Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley businesses and brands.

By the end of this year, a total of 1,300 branches will have had their names changed to Santander. It’s a process that is costing the company a cool £12m.

In terms of raising its profile and an awareness of its presence in a very crowded and competitive market, that’s probably not a sum that will stretch far.

In recent months, Santander has delivered a consistently effective marketing campaign across a variety of media that appears to be working very well for them.

The overhaul of premises goes far beyond signs and stationery.

It’s about re-aligning the newly acquired businesses in a truly global structure.

Santander gained a foothold in the UK banking market in 2004 after buying Abbey for about £8bn, in Europe's biggest cross-border bank takeover.

The deal offered Santander control of Britain’s second-largest mortgage lender, with 741 branches and 18m customers.Š

The business has grown steadily since then.

Its success may be on such a huge scale that smaller businesses in other sectors might feel it has little bearing on them, but, the fact is, best practice is always worth the effort.