Midland Bank plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It expanded in the Midlands, absorbing many local banks, and merged with the Central Bank of London in 1891, becoming the London City and Midland Bank.

After a period of nationwide expansion, including the acquisition of many smaller banks, the name Midland Bank Ltd was adopted in 1923. By 1934, it was the largest deposit bank in the world. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but in June 1992, it was taken over by HSBC Holdings plc, which phased out the Midland Bank name by June 1999 in favour of HSBC Bank.

On 10 June 2015, HSBC announced that it would be rebranding its branches in the United Kingdom. HSBC chairman Douglas Flint described the Midland brand as "odds on favourite" for a return to the high street. In September 2015, it was announced that the Midland Bank name would not be revived, and the branch network in the United Kingdom would be branded "HSBC UK".

History

Early history

thumb|Midland Bank's head office [[banking hall at 27 Poultry, built in the late 1920s]]

thumb|Former [[Threadneedle Street head office of The City Bank, which became London City and Midland Bank]]

thumb|The Lutyens-designed [[100 King Street, Manchester]]

Midland Bank was founded by Charles Geach, its first manager in Union Street, Birmingham, England, in August 1836. Geach had formerly worked at the Bank of England; he secured the business support and capital backing of leading merchants and manufacturers in Birmingham.

thumb|1967 letter telling a customer about the introduction of [[electronic data processing]]

In the 1830s and 1840s, Midland offered discounted bills of exchange for customers.

By 1918, with deposits of £335 million, it ranked as the largest bank in the world. Edward Hopkinson Holden led the bank at this time first as managing director from 1898 to 1908 and then as chairman and managing director from 1908 until his death in 1919. He oversaw more than twenty bank amalgamations between 1891 and 1918, and opened new branches throughout England and Wales. In 1980, Midland acquired a controlling interest in Trinkaus & Burkhardt KGaA, a private bank in Germany with a long history of its own, today HSBC Trinkaus.

In 1984, in a bid to increase market share Midland scrapped current account charges. It was so successful that all other banks in the United Kingdom had to quickly follow and offer the same or risk losing their customers. The country has had free banking ever since.

Midland joins the HSBC Group

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation acquired a 14.9% equity interest in Midland Bank in 1987, and a strong working relationship developed. In October 1989, First Direct was established and was at the forefront of telephone banking, with person to person service available twenty four hours a day, 365 days a year.

Until around 2020, the HSBC UK SWIFT code (all offices in the United Kingdom) remained MIDLGB22, reflecting its past as the Midland Bank.

Branding

Midland Bank was famous for its golden griffin logo, surrounded by golden coins originally introduced in 1965 on a black, then later blue background, and for its slogan "the listening bank", written by the advertising executive Rod Allen. Advertisements for the bank appeared in the popular computer game Theme Park. An animated friendly version of the Griffin fronted the bank's television advertising during the 1980s.

Midland Bank still traded as Midland Bank, but started adopting an HSBC byline by the early 1990s, started using the HSBC logo from 1997, and was finally rebranded as HSBC Bank in June 1999, as part of the adoption of the HSBC brand throughout the group. However, a dormant subsidiary, Midland Bank (Branch Nominees) Limited, continues to be registered at Companies House.

<gallery>

File:TheNed emblem.jpg|Coat of arms and initials of Midland Bank in the 1930s, above its side entrance on Princes Street, London

File:Midland bank.svg|First "griffin" logo, used from 1957 to 1988

File:Midland-Bank-Logo-1989.png|Second "griffin" logo used from 1988 to 1997

File:Midland Bank logo 1997.png|Final logo used from 1997 to 1999 (HSBC logo with "Midland Bank" name)

</gallery>

References

  • Archived website