I have been asked to report to the Committee upon two matters arising upon the approaching winding up of the above Bank, namely:-

 

(a) Whether the deficit shown on the final accounts might be repaid to the Borough Fund by the Birmingham Municipal Bank, and

 

(b) the proper manner in which to effect the final settlement of affairs.

 

Upon head (a) I believe it has been suggested that repayment might take the form of purchase by the Birmingham Municipal Bank of the furniture, equipment and goodwill of the Savings Bank. I do not think this device sound because no real goodwill attaches to the Savings Bank the latter being necessarily moribund in consequence of the Municipal Savings Banks (War Loan Investment) Act, 1916, while the furniture and equipment has been merely allocated by the Corporation from the old department to the new. In my view the matter might be met by the payment in question being effected out of the income derived from the Municipal Bank's investments. The regulations of the Municipal Bank require all moneys received from depositors to be invested with the Corporation at call. It would not accordingly be open for the Corporation to devote any part of the corpus, (ie the money received from the depositors) to any purpose contrary to the regulations, but I do not think this restriction applies to the income derived from such investments. In my opinion it is accordingly open for your Committee to apply that income to the repayment of the deficit of the Corporation Savings Bank. At the same time I am by no means sure that this matter is covered by the existing instructions and resolutions which have been passed by the City Council, and perhaps the Committee may think proper to embody reference to the proposal in the report to the Council to which I refer below.

 

(b) As the Committee are aware the Corporation Savings Bank is by the operation of the regulations applicable thereto being wound up in a manner analogous to the procedure applicable to the winding up of a company under the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908. Certain advertisements have in consequence been inserted in the London Gazette and notifications sent to the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies. It is, however, a necessary feature in the voluntary winding up of a Company to hold a final meeting and dissolution which must be advertised in the London Gazette at least one month before the meeting. After the meeting has taken place the liquidator (in this case the City Council) has to make a return to the Registrar of Companies and three months after the registration of that return the Company is deemed to be dissolved. It seems to me very desirable that the Committee should be in a position to point to a definite date after which the Corporation Savings Bank is to be considered at an end, and I think in the circumstances a meeting of the City Council would be regarded for all purposes analogous to the final general meeting of the Company contemplated by the Accompanies Act. I suggest accordingly that the Council Meeting to which the Committee report the final accounts of the Savings Bank should be treated for the purposes of winding up as the final general meeting and that I be authorised to insert the necessary advertisement giving one month's notice of the meeting in the London Gazette, and to make the return of the holding of that meeting and of its date to the Registrar.

 

In the circumstances, as I understand them, I think that following the two courses I suggest above should finally dispose of any difficulties and should complete the winding up of the Corporation Savings Bank.

 

I ask for the Committee's instructions.

 

At its meeting held on March 21st 1921 the Bank Committee passed two resolutions in relation to the Town Clerk's report:

 

 

 

The deficit accumulated by the Birmingham Corporation Savings Bank (amounting to £7,149. 3s. 11d.) was paid off by the Birmingham Municipal Bank, as described in Chapter 10 of Britain's First Municipal Savings Bank.

 

The winding-up of the temporary Bank took place at a meeting of creditors held at the Council House on November 17th 1919. The procedure was described in Chapter 9 of Britain's First Municipal Savings Bank.