Once upon a time there was a bank which catered to all of the people, even the ones without much money. Its success in attracting depositors, based in no small part by its transparent fee structure, made it a target for privatisation in the 1980s and it eventually ended up as a part of Alliance and Leicester (which is now owned by the Spanish banking conglomerate, Santander). It is good to see Peter Mandelson appears to remember the social value of this sort of financial structure.
Only just seen this as I have been out of the lovely UK. As one of those working in the PO when Giro was launched, let us not forget that we all KNEW it was going to stop the big banks getting too cocky (as they have), that the damned Tories, led by that bastion of hypocricy the Daily Mail, hated it and privatised it as soon as they could. Let us not forget either that it’s one of the (many) things dear Tony SHOULD have undone in ’97… so who’s fault is it all? Ours, dear reader, ours…