Birmingham Municipal Bank

Workers would be given a coupon in lieu, originally for one shilling; these would be stuck to a card and when they totalled £1, they could be taken to the Bank and deposited.

The branches were often a room in a house or shop, and often only part time (13 out of 20 in 1920) but permanent premises were found once the business became established.

[1] By the end of its first decade, the structure and operation of the Bank had been firmly established and the 1930s were a period of steady expansion in branches.

The growth in business necessitated a larger head office and a new building was opened in Broad Street in 1933.

The Birmingham Corporation (General Powers) Act, 1929 gave the Bank authority to negotiate with adjoining local authorities in order to open branches outside the city and this could often prove contentious – as with Sutton Coldfield in 1935[4] The first branch outside the City boundaries was in Oldbury in 1931and as well as Sutton Coldfield in 1936, branches in Halesowen and Rubery were proposed after agreement with the relevant local authority.

Six TSBs were already members of this consortium, and the addition of the Birmingham increased the number of branches to be linked to a new computer centre from 107 to 178.

[3] The Page Review was published in June 1973, and amongst its recommendations were greater powers for the TSBs and amalgamations of the smaller units.

For the next three years, the BMB negotiated with the Treasury regarding the transfer of its status to that of a Trustee Savings Bank.

Had the Council not taken this route, the Bank might not have been able to enjoy the extended powers being offered to the TSBs and would therefore have been less competitive.

[5] In 2021, the University of Birmingham opened a central-city meeting and conference site called The Exchange in the former bank headquarters in Centenary Square.