REGULATIONS
of the Birmingham Municipal Bank
September 1st 1919 - March 31st 1976
This page summarises the various editions of the Regulations that governed the operation of the Birmingham Municipal Bank (BMB)
from September 1st 1919 to March 31st 1976. The most important sets of Regulations were 1919, 1925, 1930, and 1970; these four editions
are reproduced in full on this website - as linked below at (1); (2); (5); and (18).
(NOTE: the Legislation, Regulations,
and Rules relating to the Birmingham Corporation Savings Bank are detailed separately)
Commencement Date: September 1st 1919
The Rules relating to the commencement of the BMB, which
were to be read in conjunction with a separate booklet entitled 'Savings and Housing Bank Regulations', were printed in a small booklet
approximately 4" x 6½" - the standard size adopted for all future issues. In addition to this small book containing the 'Rules', a
larger booklet (approximately 6½" x 8") contained the 'Regulations'.
Commencement
Date: April 1st 1925
This was the first combined set of Regulations, ie a consolidation of the two booklets detailed at (1) above.
This issue established the basic set of 93 Regulations that were to be used for all later editions, until a complete re-write
was undertaken in 1970. Helpfully, the 1925 issue contained an Index, but that practice was not followed in later publications.
The
circumstances relating to the requirement for the new Regulations, and the decision to amalgamate the two 1919 publications, were
related by J P Hilton in Chapter 19 of his book Britain's First Municipal Savings Bank - follow the 1925 link above, to view this
background information.
A draft of the new Regulations were approved by the City Council at a meeting held on July 19th 1924,
subject to such modifications or variation as might be required prior to the approval of the Treasury and Chief Registrar of Friendly
Societies being granted. During the course of negotiations with these bodies, it became necessary to make a few minor alterations
to the original draft. At a further City Council meeting on June 16th 1925, the Bank Committee reported accordingly.
This edition of the Regulations provided an amendment to Regulation No 3, to enable
deposits to be made by Working Men's Clubs, Benevolent Societies, etc
Commencement
Date: July 15th 1929
Amendments were made to:
- allow depositors to withdraw up to £30 on demand at a branch
(the same limit that applied at Head Office); the previous branch limit was £5 (Regulation 41);
- allow the Bank to administer
mortgage accounts more efficiently (Regulations 87, 90 and 93)
Commencement
Date: July 1st 1930
The Regulations of 1925, 1928, and 1929 were repealed
This set of Regulations was the standard for many
future amendments, as they were always headed 'Municipal Bank Regulations, 1930 as amended by …….'
There then followed a list of the subsequent regulations that amended the 1930 version.
There then followed a list of the subsequent regulations that amended the 1930 version.
These Regulations were organised into three sections:
- Management;
- Depositors' Department; and
(6) Birmingham Municipal
Bank Regulations, 1932
Commencement Date: December 1st 1932
The 1932 Regulations were just a straight reprint of the 1930
issue, containing just three 'regulations' annexed after Regulation 93. The purpose of these three regulations was to set a new Rate
of Interest for the Savings Department:
1 - These regulations
may be cited as the Birmingham Municipal Regulations, 1932.
2 - For sub-section (2) of Regulation No. 39 of the Birmingham Municipal Regulations, 1930, the following shall
be substituted:-
(2) Interest shall be allowed on every complete pound deposited at the rate of three pounds per centum per annum.
(2) Interest shall be allowed on every complete pound deposited at the rate of three pounds per centum per annum.
3 - These regulations shall come into operation on Thursday, the first day of December, one thousand nine-hundred and
thirty-two, on and from which date sub-section (2) of Regulation No. 39 of the Birmingham Municipal Regulations,1930,
is hereby repealed.
Commencement Date: April 1st 1941
Regulation
71 (Investment of Funds) was amended to enable investments in Government Securities maturing at a date not later than thirty
years from the date of investment - the previous limit was twenty years.
(8) Birmingham Municipal Bank (Procedure) Regulations,
1946
The Corporation's requirement (under Regulation 39 (1)) to give three months' notice to depositors to vary the rate of interest
on deposits was amended by the addition of a new Regulation, 39 (4), which required that 'any notice …. to be given …. may be given
by them by advertisement in a daily London newspaper, in a newspaper circulating in the district in which the Bank is situate, and
by displaying the same in some prominent position in the buildings in which the business of the Bank is carried on.'
Commencement Date: April 1st 1946
This amendment to the Regulations:
- imposed an annual limit of £500 on deposits;
- imposed an aggregate limit of £2,000 on deposits;
- reduced the Rate of Interest on Deposits from 3% to 2¾% with effect from July 1st 1946
Commencement Date: April 1st 1947
(Booklet issued, dated December 1947)
(Booklet issued, dated December 1947)
Regulations 36 (Limitation on the
Amount of Annual Deposits and on Deposits in the Aggregate) and 37 (Exceptions to Limitation of Deposits) were amended so as
to define the way in which the limits imposed by the 1946 Regulations would apply.
In addition to the three sections of the Regulations
established in the 1930 edition, this booklet also contained Extracts from appropriate Acts of Parliament - a practice that was followed
in all subsequent publications.
Commencement Date: March 9th 1949
By
this amendment, Regulation 71 (Investment of Funds - that permitted investments in Government Securities), was extended to
allow investment in 'securities of the British Government or in securities guaranteed as to principal and interest by the British
Government.'
Commencement Date: March 11th 1952
The maximum limit
for Deposits was increased from £2,000 to £3,000
(13) Birmingham Municipal Bank Regulations, 1957
Commencement Date:
April 1st 1957
The new Regulations were issued in a booklet dated April 1957, and contained the following amendments:
- Additional Regulations, following Regulation 93 as Supplemental Regulations in respect of the new No 2 Department.
- Regulation 36 (Limitation on the Amount of Annual Deposits and on Deposits in the Aggregate)
extended to include an additional section:
(5)
In computing for the purpose of this Regulation the amount standing to the credit of any person in
Depositors' Department No 1, whether solely or jointly with any other person, there shall not be taken into
account
deposits standing to the credit of any person either solely or jointly in Depositors' Department No 2.
- Regulation
67 (Estate, Succession and Legacy Duties) replaced and now entitled Death Duties
Commencement Date: June 14th 1960
(New Regulations booklet issued, dated June 1960)
(New Regulations booklet issued, dated June 1960)
Increased maximum limit for No 1
Department Deposits from £3,000 to £5,000
(Regulation 36, the constraints of which were also simplified)
(Regulation 36, the constraints of which were also simplified)
Suspended the annual
deposit limit of £500 for No 1 Department Deposits
Increased maximum limit for No 2 Department Deposits from £1,000 to £2,000
(Supplemental Regulation 3 (i))
(Supplemental Regulation 3 (i))
Increased the amount withdrawable on demand from £30 to £50
(15) Birmingham Municipal Bank Regulations,
1965
Increased the Rate of Interest on No 1 Department Deposits to 3% (Regulation 39 (2))
(16) Birmingham Municipal Bank
Regulations, 1966
Presumably, these Regulations related to the introduction of the No 3 (Investment) Department on January 1st
1967 - see NOTE below
(17) Birmingham Municipal Bank (Current Account) Regulations, 1967
These Regulations related to the
introduction of Cheque Accounts in July 1967 - see NOTE below
Commencement
Date: October 1st 1970
A complete re-write of the Regulations, in a revised format, revoking the regulations listed above as
items (5) to (17).
These were to be the last issue of regulations for the Birmingham Municipal Bank, which ceased on March 31st
1976. Its successor, the Birmingham Municipal Trustee Savings Bank being regulated under the Trustee Savings Bank Act, 1976
The
history of how the BMB's Rules and Regulations changed over the years are detailed at The Evolution of the Rules & Regulations
NOTE:
The
nine headings numbered above in red bold (1; 2; 5; 6; 10; 12; 13; 14; 18) refer to published copies of the Bank's Regulations that
have been preserved by Norman Worwood and David Parkes, and form the basis for the details of the Regulations reproduced on this website.
The
creator of this website would be grateful for sight of published copies of any other editions of the Regulations, particularly 1966
and 1967 (Current Account)
