The Santander deal received the approval of around 85 percent of shareholders.
Shareholders have approved the takeover of Alliance & Leicester (A&L) by Spanish financial services group Banco Santander.
The £1.5 billion merger is now subject only to High Court approval next month before being enforced. A total of 84 percent of the small shareholders approved the deal.
A&L's combining with Santander - which also owns mortgage lender Abbey - comes as part of a consolidation trend in the credit crunch-hit mortgage sector, and follows Nationwide's recent takeover of two smaller building societies. The BBC has also reported this morning that HBOS, which has seen a serious erosion of its stock value over recent days, is also in talks to merge with rival lender Lloyds TSB.
The firms are combining in order to better position themselves against the ongoing credit crisis, which has made it more difficult for banks to borrow and lend large sums on the money markets. The subsequent property downturn, which has led to mortgage approvals dropping by 70 percent in a year according to one survey, has also hit lenders hard.
It is as yet unclear whether or not A&L will retain its branding after the deal comes into effect.
Roy Brown, the mortgage firm's acting chairman, said: "We welcome our shareholders’ approval of the offer from Santander, which was unanimously recommended by the Board of Alliance & Leicester. The economic outlook and continuing uncertainty in financial markets have reinforced the Board's view that this transaction is in the best interests of shareholders, customers and other stakeholders."
The A&L vote was conducted at an Extraordinary General Meeting in Birmingham.
