[General] Manager's Report upon the working of Hay Mills Branch and the manner in which Mr Kesterton discharges his duties.

The Bank Committee on 4th October 1920 passed the following resolution:-

That Mr Kesterton be placed in temporary charge of the Hay Mills Branch for a period of six months, the [General] Manager to then report upon the working of the Branch and the manner in which Mr Kesterton discharges his duties.

Dealing with the first part of such resolution, the [General] Manager submits herewith particulars of the business transacted at Hay Mills Branch during three distinct periods, viz:- (1) Up to June 12th 1920, when the Branch was open three evenings per week with Mr Teale in charge; (2) Up to October 23rd, when the Branch was worked by staff from Head Office during the same hours of opening; and (3) from the 25th October to 14th March, during which period the Branch was open daily with Mr Kesterton in charge. The Committee will better appreciate the position of this Branch by referring to these periods:-

There can be no doubt that the influence of Mr Teale was considerable in this district during the period he was in charge. He was successful in attracting money to the Bank, but he was not a clerk, and the bookkeeping irregularities became so marked that other arrangements had to be made. The work could not be satisfactorily performed as a permanent arrangement by Head Office staff, and the points which influenced the Committee to open the Branch daily were:- (1) the number of transactions, (2) the population in the Hay Mills and South Yardley districts, and (3) the fact that the question of Mr Kesterton's services being retained was then before the Committee.

The Committee were justified in their action from the information then available. To have an average of 60 to 64 transactions in 1½ hours indicated business could be done.

During the period the Branch has been a daily Branch it cannot be said that the anticipations of the Committee have been realised. It is true there are now more openings to spread the work over, but the average weekly transactions have fallen from 183 to 164, and the average new accounts opened weekly from 21 to 11. These two items are generally a good index of progress or otherwise. The average amount deposited has increased slightly from £269 to £288 per week, while the repayments have also increased from £104 to £134.

In looking for reasons it is difficult to find an altogether satisfactory explanation. It will be appreciated that the period selected to turn the Branch into a daily Branch corresponded with the beginning of a serious dislocation of industry, and to some extent this has affected the results. One cannot, however, rely upon that explanation as the only one, because it is found that periods of serious industrial disturbances generally result in extra demands on Savings Banks, and the fact that other districts do not show such a poor result cannot be overlooked. The [General] Manager has invited Mr Kesterton to prepare a report on the matter from his observations and experience, and attached herewith is a copy of such report.

The [General] Manager has also consulted Whitehouse, the youth who assisted Mr Kesterton at first, and who has been in charge since the Exhibition opened. There appears to be an agreed opinion that the district is a poor one; but this, in itself, is no criterion of business in Savings Banks. At Manchester, for instance, the best results are obtained in the poorest districts, and doubtless Liverpool and Glasgow would confirm.

The [General] Manager would prefer to regard as contributory reasons the following:-

1st.     That the district has been seriously affected by conditions of employment.

2nd.    That the position of the office may not be most suitable.

3rd.    That while opening the Branch as a daily Branch has attracted a class of depositor who would not be attracted by evening hours

            of business, the business done in this way has not equalled the loss by the falling away of smaller depositors.

4th.    That a good many of the small accounts opened by Mr Teale were "in and out" cases, which are of little value to the Bank.

As to the manner in which Mr Kesterton has discharged his duties, the [General] Manager reports that he has kept the cash book correctly and accounted for the money received.

During the whole period he has had the assistance of a reliable youth. The first youth, named Whitehouse, remained with him until December 24th, when it became necessary to place Whitehouse in charge of another Branch owing to illness of one of the staff. On Mr Kesterton taking up work at the Exhibition, Whitehouse remained at Hay Mills in charge, and has carried through and proved the Balance at March in an efficient manner. While the work has been carried on satisfactorily, and the books and returns kept correctly, it should not be taken for granted that Mr Kesterton would be able to discharge the duties of a Clerk-in-Charge of a Daily Branch on his own responsibility. He is interested in the work of the Bank and has done his best to improve his knowledge during the past six months.

J P Hilton

May 13th 1921.

469 RESOLVED:- That it be a recommendation to the General Committee that the Hay Mills Branch be opened in future on Tuesdays from 10am to 2:30pm and on Saturdays and Mondays from 5:30pm to 7:30pm only, instead of the present hours of business; and that the question of the employment of Mr Kesterton be referred to the Chairman of the Committee (Mr Councillor Appleby) and the Chairman of your Sub-Committee (Mr Alderman Lovesey) for consideration and report.

470 RESOLVED:- That the question of altering the situation of the Hay Mills Branch be considered at a later meeting.

The question of Mr Kesterton's future was considered on July 18th 1921, when it was noted that he was appointed in August 1919 "at £250 per annum, as a temporary appointment of Organiser. This was anticipated to last for 4 months, but his services have been retained for one purpose or another. Subsequently, when the Bank Staff were placed under the Civil Service Bonus Scheme, Mr Kesterton  received the benefit of such scheme also.  His basic salary was brought down with all others by £78 per annum, leaving it at £172."

Total bonuses of £212 increased Mr Kesterton's salary to £384, but with part of the bonus based on the cost of living, it was anticipated that his salary would fall by £45. The Committee stated that they had "had to take over five Clerks from the Water Department, three of whom have over 20 years' service and positions of a suitable character have had to be found for them. The only post which can be offered to Mr Kesterton is to assist Mr Rees at Balsall Heath Branch. Rees has had 28 years' service of a responsible character and should be able to train Mr Kesterton up."

Although the Committee's members were anxious to help Mr Kesterton by finding him a position within the Bank's structure, they were hampered by his lack of suitable knowledge and experience. As a consequence of the Bank's recent agreement with the Water Department for water accounts to be paid over branch counters, a number of such experienced officers had transferred to the Bank. The Committee therefore felt unable to give him an appointment as a Branch Manager, but placed him with Mr Rees at Balsall Heath branch at a salary of £120 per annum, plus bonuses of £172.

The youth who performed satisfactorily at Hay Mills was Frank Whitehouse, who had also worked with Mr Kesterton at Acocks Green on its first day of business - an experience recollected by Frank Whitehouse fifty years later. Mr Kesterton's work at a Bingley Hall exhibition in May 1921 was the subject of correspondence between him and the General Manager.

The bridge referred to in Mr Kesterton's report spans the River Cole between Small Heath and Hay Mills; it was opened in 1914 replacing an earlier toll bridge.

The hours of business at Hay Mills branch were amended to a total of 8½ (Monday and Saturday evenings: 5:30pm to 7:30pm; and Tuesdays 10am to 2:30pm) from August 8th 1921, but the branch failed to progress in an acceptable manner until it was located to permanent premises at 1176 Coventry Road in 1925. Deposit balances improved from £21,590 (March 31st 1922) to £62,010 at March 31st 1926.