Abbey employs frock tactics

The Diary has noted with interest the dual strategies of many building societies which are preventing new customers joining by hiking the minimum deposits while at the same time trying to attract white knights to come to their rescue and buy them.

Abbey National does not have to do either now that it is a bank and is taking over National & Provincial for 1.35bn. Instead it is going into the fashion world or, more accurately, the “fabric-free fashion” world. The fabric-free outfits are made entirely from the Abbey National Multifunction Cards. Created by first-year fashion students, they chart the history of money from the Stone Age to the Space Age. Proceeds from the show will go to the

charity, NCH Action for Children.

“The show enables us to assist students in gaining invaluable experience and exposure,” says Abbey’s marketing director Ambrose McGinn. Our picture shows that they are not the only ones gaining exposure – apparently the cards don’t stretch far.

money woman