There are now forty-nine branches of the Birmingham Municipal Bank in different parts of the city, and Saturday was the thirty-ninth occasion upon which formal openings of bank premises have taken place. The latest addition to the list of permanent premises for the bank is at Little Bromwich, an area in which business has been conducted in a temporary building, a hut, since September, 1926. That temporary branch was open for business only on Monday and Saturday evenings, but the new permanent branch will be open daily.

 

Sir Percival Bower (chairman of the Bank Committee), presiding at a tea in Bordesley Green Schools prior to the opening, said at present there was standing to the credit of depositors in the Little Bromwich branch the sum of £30,733. There had been opened 1,359 accounts. That had been accomplished with only an evening bank, but with the opening of a permanent bank the committee were hopeful that the progress would be more rapid. Sir Percival added that in the forty-nine branches of the Bank there were 283,700 depositors, who had standing to their credit £10,455,500. Throughout the city there were 39,800 home safes in use. Mortgages had been arranged for 8,700 house purchasers, the amount advanced being £2,952,700, while the number of mortgages in force was 6,000, and the amount outstanding on mortgage was £1,671,400.

 

On behalf of the Bank Committee, Sir Percival handed the Lady Mayoress (Mrs W Byng Kenrick) a silver cake-stand as a memento of the first occasion upon which she had opened a branch of the bank.

 

The Lady Mayoress recounted her experiences of trying to foster the thrift habit by collecting "provident" pennies in Ladywood and by entering up the ledger of a Sunday School penny bank. She expressed the opinion that many parents saved pence through Sunday School banks and said it was of particular interest to her to see the great development of the Municipal Bank, a thing of which she never dreamed, but which fulfilled her desires for easy banking facilities for the mass of the people. It was a great thing to have the opportunity of saving when the desire to save was there and that was one reason why she welcomed the opening of permanent bank premises where people could go at convenient times to do their banking.

 

The Lady Mayoress opened the bank and wished it every possible success.

 

Thanks to the Lady Mayoress were expressed by Councillors F W Daniels and W Lewis.