Privatisation
The Alliance & Leicester Group won a bidding process for the Girobank operation in 1989 when the government decided to privatise it. The transaction was completed in 1990. By the time of the privatisation, the bank was essentially indistinguishable from its competitors apart from the fact that it used Post Offices to transact cash business. The contract with the Post Office was to continue to be an exclusive one for a fixed period after privatisation. Nowadays, the Post Office provides cash services to many banks on a commercial basis.
The personal banking business of Girobank became part of the Alliance & Leicester Building Society directly. The Business Banking arm continued trading under the name of Girobank as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Alliance and Leicester Group until 2003, when it was renamed as Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank following further consolidation in the Alliance & Leicester Group. In May 2010 Alliance & Leicester was acquired by Grupo Santander, and the name Alliance & Leicester was replaced by Santander UK.
While the name "Girobank" is no longer used, the organisation lives on within the Alliance & Leicester Group. The name "Girobank" is, however, still used on some Bank Giro Credits intended for paying bills, along with the Alliance & Leicester "plus" logo. Some Councils even continue to use the original name "Post Office Giro".
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