Liverpool Trustee Savings Bank records

Management and publicity records of the Liverpool Trustee Savings Bank.

Foundation

Philanthropic savings agencies had proved to be such a success in Liverpool that it became apparent that a more permanent savings institution would better serve the needs of depositors. Following several town hall meetings in 1814, there was an agreement to establish the Liverpool Savings Bank. The new bank's trustees consisted of prominent gentlemen who were active in philanthropic pursuits across Liverpool. The premises selected for the bank to operate in were on Ranelagh Street. The bank first opened for business at the start of 1815.

By the start of the 1820s the savings bank had approaching 1,000 depositors. This increase had meant that the bank's premises were not fit for the growing operation. The bank moved to premises in Freemason's Hall in 1819. By 1829 the bank was able to purchase the hall and an adjacent piece of land, onto which it was able to extend the bank's premises.

Inspecting the Customers

Throughout the 1820s the bank was only open for withdrawals for two days each month. This restriction was insisted upon by one of the trustees, Archdeacon Brooks, who insisted on paying all the money out himself. This desire was reputedly due to his wish to make searching enquiries of the depositor. He questioned the nature of their withdrawals and the purpose behind them, taking the opportunity to provide them with 'sound moral advice.'

Expansion

Despite Archdeacon Brooks' practice the bank continued to grow. By 1829 the bank held the accounts of over 6000 depositors with deposits totalling over £275,000. In the 1830s it branched out from its purely banking functioned and instituted a lending library. The trustee minutes state that a library was deemed to increase the bank's 'usefulness' to the local community. The library was part of the bank until 1846 when it was donated to the Liverpool Collegiate Institution. The bank was able to survive scares brought on by several frauds in TSBs throughout the 1850s. It was now open up to four days a week and was, in terms of deposits made, the fifth largest savings bank in the country.

Liverpool Savings Bank opened its first branch at Kirkdale in September 1858. More branches were to follow throughout the close of the 19th and into the 20th centuries. The bank continued the expansion of its branch network up until the outbreak of the First World War.

The bank managed to survive the initial fears of depositors upon the outbreak of war. When the war had reached its conclusion the bank had managed to secure another 25,000 accounts. The inter-war years saw the bank continue to expand, ensuring that it was a truly regional bank, with representation across the north-west.

A larger TSB Group

After the Second World War the bank continued to increase its deposits. It would even provide funds to allow other savings banks in different regions to expand. The bank would continue as an independent institution until 1976 when, as a result of the TSB Act of 1975, the bank was subsumed into the new regional structure of TSBs. The bank would form part of TSB of Mid-Lancashire & Merseyside.

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