Alliance & Leicester Business Banking (ALBB) has joined Microsoft and Blackberry as the latest sponsor of business community Business Scene.

The deal will allow ALBB to target Business Scene’s 300,000-strong membership of business decision makers, predominantly in the SME community. It is believed to be the first attempt by a UK retail bank to tap into the power of

social media

to target SME customers.

Business Scene is one of a number of SME communities to have sprung up in the last two years, although as well as enabling online interaction, it is also focused on running live events on a regional basis. The ALBB logo will appear on the community website and at all live events, which will be attended by locally based bank managers.

Ceri Henfrey, head of business banking at Alliance & Leicester, comments, “In the current economic climate, when many businesses are struggling to build new relationships, networking and personal contact is essential for businesses. We are looking forward to working with Business Scene to encourage more businesses to network both on and offline.”

Warren Cass, MD of Business Scene, says, “ALCB are renowned for making small business banking a priority, so this is a natural fit.”

• Alliance & Leicester has confirmed that the Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank (ALCB) identity will be phased out over the coming months, as part of the integration of the business operations of parent company Santander’s various business banking subsidiaries – including the former Abbey-branded operations. The change reflects a subtle change in emphasis. ALCB had developed a strong reputation as a challenger brand in the B2B market, particualry targeting small cash-focused businesses, and had been recognised at the B2B Marketing Awards. At the time of writing, an ALBB logo was not available.