Manchester and Salford Trustee Savings Bank records

Management and publicity records of the Manchester and Salford Trustee Savings Bank.

Foundation The founding of the Manchester & Salford Savings Bank was instigated in 1817 by a group of public spirited citizens of the area. They had witnessed the benefits that the Scottish savings banks had offered to their local working communities and sought to bring the same opportunities for saving to the people of their region.

They decided to establish a savings bank that would afford 'the labouring classes of the cities of Manchester and Salford a secure and profitable investment for such sums of money as they may be able to save.' The conditions in Manchester and Salford at the time of the bank's foundation were appalling. Poverty and squalor were widespread and an unfortunate by-product of the industrial revolution. Savings banks were established to encourage the lowest earners in the community to save and so be better able to cope with times of economic turmoil.

The original trustees of the bank assumed the expenses associated with setting up the bank until the bank was in a position to be able to support itself. The bank first opened for business in Marsden Square on 31 January 1818.

By 1830 the bank had proved so popular with the working people of Manchester and Salford that it was necessary for the bank to relocate to larger premises. A site on Cross Street was selected and became the bank's new headquarters in the same year.

Unfortunately, the bank's early progress soon ground to a halt. In May 1832 there was a run on the bank following nationwide rumours regarding the security of savings banks. By October that year the bank had seen 3000 of its accounts closed. So dire was the situation that the bank was forced to let out the front room of its premises to the Law Society in order to meet its operating costs. Development and Expansion The events of 1832 proved to be a temporary, albeit serious, setback for the bank. By 1842 the bank had recuperated sufficiently and began expanding again. This expansion merited a move to larger premises. The new premises were in King Street and designed by Richard Lane. Lane was a renowned architect in Manchester during the 1820s and 1830s and was known for his Greek revival work.

The bank would maintain a steady business in Manchester and Salford throughout the 19th century and into the 20th. By the end of the First World War the bank had managed to increase its deposits still further. War-time saving was promoted by the government and the bank ensured that it was able to assist in the encouragement of saving in the local community.

The bank flirted with greater expansion in 1939 when an amalgamation with the Brighton Savings Bank was proposed. However, the trustees chose not to recommend this amalgamation. The proposal was rejected, but the bank was able to offer the Brighton Bank money so that it could finance its own development.

Technological Pioneer David Wilson, the chief accountant of the bank in the 1960s saw the advantages that online computing technologies could provide to the banks customers. He campaigned for the bank to adopt the new computing systems that had become available, correctly believing that that they would offer the opportunity to provide customers with quicker, more efficient services. The Manchester & Salford Savings Bank would be one of the first savings banks in the country to install online computing technology for updating passbooks in its offices. The first machines began operating in 1967.

A larger TSB Group The TSB Act of 1975 meant that the bank was subsumed into the new regional structure of TSBs. The bank would form part of TSB North-West Central. This would remain until 1986 when TSB was floated on the stock market.

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