The Finance Act, 1956, introduced an Income Tax concession relating to the interest received on certain savings accounts. The story
of how the Birmingham Municipal Bank obtained this concession by the creation of a new savings department is detailed at Introduction
of the No 2 Department.
The new department (see
In the first photograph, the Lord Mayor
opens an account in the No 2 Department on April 1st 1957. He is watched by the Bank's General Manager, H J Sutherland (left); Deputy
General Manager, F W Parsonage (background); the Bank's Chairman (I L Morgan); and J W Raftery, Head Office Superintendent (right).
In the second photograph, the Lord Mayor receives his new passbook from the Chairman.
The third photograph was taken in the Broad Street Assembly Room on Thursday, April 4th 1957, when a Commemoration Dinner was held
as part of the inauguration celebrations.
On the table nearest the camera,
three Branch Managers are identifiable
on the nearer
side of the table:
Dan Crowley (first seat);
Geoff Thomas (second seat); and
Charles Harper (fourth seat).
On the second table,
three Head
Office senior staff sit facing the camera:
Frank Whitehouse (first seat);
Jack Raftery (third seat);