Abbey Group (UK)

Rebranded as Abbey in 2003, Abbey National was the first of the British mutual building societies to seek a wider market by converting to bank status in 1989. In 1996, Abbey launched a takeover of another society, National & Provincial, for Ł1.35bn, catapulting it into the ranks of the country's leading financial service businesses. In 2000 it opened merger talks with Bank of Scotland, but was quickly targeted itself by an acquisitive Lloyds TSB. In the end neither deal materialised and Abbey remained independent. The group reported two years of horrendous losses for 2002 and 2003 as a result of a disastrous move into wholesale banking. In 2004, it was acquired by Grupo Santander of Spain. During 2008, Santander further expanded its presence in the UK acquiring two rival lenders, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, both of which will be absorbed into Abbey. Click here to find out more; or subscribe to Adbrands.net here. Adbrands Company Profiles provide a detailed analysis of the history and current operations of leading advertisers, agencies and brands worldwide, and include a critical summary which identifies key strengths and weaknesses. Adbrands Account Assignments tracks account management for the world's leading brands and companies, including details of which advertising agency handles which accounts in which countries for major markets.

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Abbey Group website

Abbey	Inscape
Cater Allen Bank	Cahoot.com
Scottish Mutual	James Hay
Scottish Provident	Porterbrook

Grupo Santander

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