The producers news., 1925-09-25
BIC FIVE BANKERS
0F BRITAIN LET One
Slip OUT OF HAND
,,Dv1vGHAM HAS A MUNICIPAL
DiI', n,ZK THAT HAS PROVEN a
SPLENDID SUCCESS

,.don-England has one munich
LOi,nod hank. To start a bank an
pa PuIsb T CITY has to get the consent
En- F55..1-iiament. Five years ago the
q ~, of Birmingham got such fran
Clty I;so. Il was virtually slipped through
elllsE, ealsI;.nent :, under Tory leader, New
inl I1i chamberlain, who was out to ben
lllt e. Lis home city, and so keep it Tory.
gl' g-l. = other city that has applied
L-ol' :oa has been beaten in Parliament
a-.i0 no banking monopoly. In Scot
ys three cities under labor rule
EaTs Ial-q started banks by dodging the
Elementary restrictions.
po1I, The last report of the Birmingham
ir;c;nal bank showed the amazing
i'-,ber ll',,l of 10000 depositOrs, credit
.li',,, ~ -ritb S25.OOO,O0O. In its five years
- g. banlz has handled S70,000,000. 1t
Sa- si-C 3S branches, and is opening new
.aooTn+s ..,.. at nearly 700 per week. Par
Gor,ert will not permit it to be more
4Ign ti,.' a savings bank, despite the
tvs request for a general bank
business franchise.
Lends Money to City
Resides paving depositors 3 IL per
cont the municipal bank lowers taxa
tion in Birmingham by lending to the
citv Government at a lower rate than
tbe ci+v could borrow from the bank
mo monopoly. So far it has loaned
$1,000. 900 to the city council; even
fbe taxpayers who bitterly opposed
tba bank at first are now for it.
II lends money to depositors for
bousebmlding purposes; so far, over
1000 depositorS have borrowed 1884,
100000. The success of the bank has
Iesd other cities, especially Manchest-
81. to try to find way Of doing like
wise. but so far without success.
Why the big Five" (as the bank
ing monopoly is called) is determined
to keep out peoples banks is clear
from their profits and the fact that
banking is the backbone of British
Imperialism.
Even in bad years, the British
earn net profits averaging % to 25
per cent on their paid-up capital. A
recently published report of bank pro-
fits shows a dozen banks whose pro-
fits run from % per cent to So per
cent.
How Scotch Work 1t.
In Scotland town after town is
coming under the control of Labor
town councils. Three of these have
set up successful municipal banks by
lodging the Parliamentary law, know
ing that it was useless to ask Par
lament for banking charters.
Tom Johnston, Labor NJ. P, started
# in his home town of Kirkintilloch
four years ago. It's a place Of 10000
in DumbartOnshire. This town coun-
ell, or the Labor majority, organized
its own members into a stock COM
pany, "The Kirkintilloch Municipal
Bank, Ltd" which then entered q
contract with the council to carry on
a banking business. Shares in the
company were nominal, a shilling
each, each held by a member of the
council. who gave it up to his success
sOr if defeated. No profit can be paiC
on shares; profits 60 to the tOwT
council; that is, to the citizens.
So successful has the bank beer
that its profits have reduced taxation
for the townsfolk. The labor people
have no fear of an anti-labor counci
being elected, for even if it were ant
it wrecked the bank, the consequen
increase of taxation would put thr
Tory council out again.
A TOry's Endorsement
At Birmingham Neville Chamber
lain, who's a Tory of Tories and
cabinet minister under Baldwin, open
ed one of the municipal bank
branches with these words:
you may call it Socialism if
you like. | have never been
frightened by a name. I do not
care whether it is Socialism or
not so long as it is good
thing It would be a
good thing for this country if it
should be further extended"