The extension of the contract follows on from the awarding of the business to the Aegis-owned agency in November 2005 after a four-way pitch involving then incumbent MindShare, Universal McCann and OMD UK, which was resolved through an online and heavily procurement-based auction.
Carat will handle all the communications strategy and planning and buying requirements for the Grupo Santander-owned bank in the UK.
According to the Aegis-owned agency, the extended contract includes an expected additional £3m of annual billings as Abbey and Santander look to bring new products and services to market in 2007 and 2008.
Abbey kicked off the internal review in March, and following presentations to senior Abbey management, the company opted to extend its contract with Carat.
Jeremy Davies, director of brand and communication at Abbey, said: "From innovative communications planning to market-leading media buying, Carat have done a fantastic job for us since their appointment and we look forward to continuing success in the future."
Neil Jones, managing director at Carat, said: "I'm delighted that our relationship with Abbey has continued to flourish since we won the business back in late 2005 and look forward to developing it further."
In February 2006, Carat was awarded Abbey's £8m digital account from MindShare, consolidating it with the traditional media business. The business was shifted from MindShare Interaction, formerly mOne, to Carat Digital.
It is not clear if the digital account was part of the internal review of the Abbey media business.
Last week, Carat won the £15m Birds Eye media account, beating incumbent MindShare and Publicis agency Starcom in the agency's first major win of the year.
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