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  That Martins Bank has Branches
at TEN university sites throughout England by 1969, does not come about
overnight. Students are the
professional classes of tomorrow, likely to have a large income, AND the
need to have that income looked after by a bank. The concept of Student
Banking is the brainchild of Mr William T Green (pictured, right) a member
of the Bank’s Staff in Liverpool, who becomes the Assistant Manager of the
first University Branch opened in Liverpool (pictured, far right) in
1958. He has the original idea in
1956, but operational constraints mean that the Bank cannot progress with
opening a branch for a further two years. The fight for representation on
University campuses is fierce, and often made more difficult by the
Universities’ own bankers
who, invariably, are given first choice over prime customer sites. In this feature we will look at what
Martins Bank has to offer to students, against the background of the story
of how the Bank – against a number of odds – works for nearly FIVE YEARS to secure one of only two prime
retail sites at LANCASTER
UNIVERSITY in the 1960s, a Branch that along with a
Liverpool University Branch (moved to the campus itself in 1967), stays
open until January 2021.
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The new
bank at Liverpool University attracts the attention of the Architect and
Building News, which publishes this spread once work is complete – the
Branch itself is a renovated former shop, and as Martins sees university
banking as something of an experiment, the whole thing is put together with
the cheapest fixtures and fittings available that will serve as a bank, yet
still attract the “tomorrow people” that Martins wants as its customers.
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A
bright idea…
Student Banking,
through the provision of on-or-near-campus facilities is suggested to the
Bank as early as 1956 by William T Green.
Mr Green, who joined the bank in 1947, has made good progress,
working his way through the Institute of Bankers Examinations, and building
a reputation as someone who keeps both the operational needs of the bank,
and the needs of its customers firmly and fairly balanced. Thanks to his
Daughter Fiona, we are able to reproduce here a number of letters which
chart the setting up of Liverpool University as the first student service
branch, and which show that good ideas from members of the staff are taken
seriously. Mr Green is given the job
of Branch Second, and works his way up to a full “Pro Manager” signing position
which allows him to fully deputise for the role of bank manager…
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Images © Martins Bank
Archive Collections – F Winter
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From Mr Green’s
initial suggestion, which was sent into the Bank in October 1956, it takes
about nineteen months for the Bank to be able carry the idea to fruition,
with the opening on 1 May 1958 of Liverpool University sub-branch.
It is interesting
to note from the Bank’s initial response in 1956, that Martins Bank’s
expansion programme is quote “overloaded”, as the business is pushing hard
into areas of England and Wales to create a more national distribution of
outlets.
In the letter, Mr J
A Banks talks optimistically of “breaking fresh ground”, yet despite this
large financial commitment, he thanks Mr Green for his initiative, and
promises to keep him advised of the development of a University
Branch.
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Sure enough, in
January 1958 the Bank writes once more to let Mr Green know that such a
branch is very much on the cards within a few months, and Mr Green,
keen to be in at the start of this exciting new venture, wastes no time in
sending his suggestions for how it all might come together, AND work in practice.
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By the end of
April 1958, he is rewarded by the offer of occupying the “second position”
at the new Branch, a job which at that point in time was broadly equivalent
to that of an Assistant Manager. Finally, after more than nine years at
Liverpool University he is promoted again and thanked for his “good work at
this this specialised Branch”.
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Staking a claim ...
 Martins Bank learns much from its early involvement with Britain’s newest
Universities in the late 1950s. Careful monitoring of student banking habits
at Liverpool University provides valuable information, both on the ways in
which students conduct their accounts, and, more importantly, on the costs
that will be involved to Martins in providing free banking and maintaining
local Branches at further and future
Universities. As the 1960s
progress, and more new red brick and concrete establishments of learning are
brought into being, a policy begins to emerge, where universities restrict
the sole or main use of banking outlets on their grounds to those that act as
their bankers. This is certainly the
situation at Lancaster, where Martins spends almost five years staking a
claim to being able to offer its services to students.
The District Bank, has a very strong local
presence and its role as Lancaster University’s banker means it already has
its feet firmly under the table. On top of this, the University is itself keen to choose a
bank that knows and reflects the locality. However, Martins Bank also fits
the bill by having a blanket coverage of local branches and undisputed
Northern roots – and it will not take the situation lying down!
The process of wooing the University authorities
at Lancaster begins in 1963, even before the University receives its charter,
and it culminates in the successful establishment of a branch alongside the District Bank in
the main shopping area of the University – Alexandra Square. Along the way Martins encounters the usual
suspects – low key introductions to high profile personnel on both sides,
followed by offers of dining out, and then more formal meetings. Martins’
original overtures to the University seem to pay off, and they are informally
offered a place. However the whole
process is then turned on its head by a tendering process, which the
University feels will make it all look fair, and Martins must bid along with
the other banks for what is in reality just one place – the other destined
almost certainly go to the District Bank.
That Martins Bank is successful – (at what is understood to have been
an incredibly heavy initial price) - goes without saying and the branch that
it still serving students at Lancaster more than forty five years later, is
opened first in temporary premises in 1966, and then in its current shop
front outlet in Alexandra Square in 1968.
Researching
the Student Market…
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Mr W O Davies
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 We are
indebted to our friends at BARCLAYS
GROUP ARCHIVES for their research on our behalf
into the Martins’ Branch at Lancaster University, and for making a number
of key records available to us for this feature. We begin in August 1963 when Mr W O
Davies, Liverpool Assistant District General Manager, writes to Mr I
Buchanan, Liverpool District General Manager, to make the case for actively
pursuing University outlets for the Bank. Research has shown that almost as
soon as new Universities are announced, the fight begins amongst the Banks
and others, including insurance companies, to access the student
market. Mr Davies wants his boss to
understand how crucial it will be for Martins to build on the success of
its Liverpool University branch, and try for a place at Lancaster…
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Mr I Buchanan
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Image © Barclays Ref 0025-0613a
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“We have
recently been making enquiries into the possibility of opening Branches in
the precincts of new universities which are in course of being established. In the case of two Universities in the
South of England it has been found that Barclays Bank as Bankers to each
University had received the right to establish a Branch within the
precincts and that representation was not being extended to other Banks.
Such arrangements clearly give Barclays the opportunity of obtaining
valuable future customers to the exclusion of the other Banks.
We are anxious
to establish whether similar arrangements may apply in the case of other
new Universities, and we should be glad if you would ascertain as
discreetly as possible the opportunities for representation that will arise
in the case of the new University at Lancaster in so far as establishing a
Branch within the precincts is concerned? or whether sole
representation is likely to be granted to the Bankers to the University”
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Two days later, Mr Davies writes again, this time to Mr L G Tunnah,
Assistant General Manager at Head Office, with an update on what is a fast
moving situation:
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“Further to my
letter of the 14th instant, I am now able to report that at a recent
meeting of the authorities in Lancaster it was decided that the
banking business of the new University would be placed with the District
Bank.
By tactful
lobbying in advance our Manager had solicited the support of several
members of the local Education Committee on our behalf but it seems that
the matter was virtually a fait accompli when it came before the meeting.
With the hold
they already have in the County, both at Lancaster and Preston, it is
evident that the dice was fairly heavily loaded in favour of the District
Bank.
We have asked
Mr. Young to keep this matter well
in mind, and he will advise us should any possible opportunities present
themselves for our obtaining representation within the University
precincts”.
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Image © Barclays Ref
0025-0613a
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A Fait
accompli…
  As feared, the
competition - in the form of the District Bank - has won the right to be
Bankers to the University. This will
guarantee them a retail outlet on the new campus when it opens. Between 1963 and 1966, Martins Bank’s
Lancaster Manager, Mr Youdell (pictured, right) has the job of keeping on the
friendliest terms with the University, and remaining vigilant to any news
that another retail outlet may be up for grabs. His “tactful lobbying” is much appreciated
by Liverpool District Office, and it will eventually bear fruit – rather
expensive fruit: After much deliberation, two banking units are proposed in
the main shopping area of the University, and these are put out to
tender. Wisely, the University wants
to be seen as fair, and to attract the highest bidder for the two leases. The price paid must be the same for both
winning banks, which means that although the District Bank will be one of
those winners, it too, will be expected to dig extremely deep for the
privilege.
Doing the
maths…
Having secured its place at University, Martins Bank must now make the
venture it pay for itself in the long term.
Even as long ago as 1963, the cost per student to Martins of offering
free banking seems very high at £15.
That’s - £245 per student based on the increase in retail
prices over the fifty years between 1963 and 2013, or £540 per student
if based on average earnings over the same period! There is no doubt that the long-term
advantages are good – a graduate who becomes a high earning professional is
likely to need to call upon the Bank’s financial expertise. The facts and
figures are mulled over by top brass of the Bank, who are presented with this
feasibility paper in January 1964…
1.
So far we can measure the
success and the cost of our university branch programme, only by our
Liverpool experience.
2.
We cannot expect to be as
successful in attracting undergraduate accounts in other places as we have
been in Liverpool.
3.
We have obtained in
Liverpool about 400 undergraduate accounts per annum and, of these, we can
expect to retain, say, 250 after graduation either at the branch or at other
branches.
4. Our loss will probably persist in the £3,000 per annum range
plus, say, share of special advertising £1,000 per annum. So it is costing
£4,000 to get 250 graduate accounts - say, £15 upwards per account.
5.
I would be prepared to
regard this as a worthwhile expenditure to obtain the accounts of this type
of person.
6.
We should continue our
policy of opening branches to serve universities and where- existing branches
place us at disadvantage to other banks by reason of location we should
consider special university sub or full branches.
7.
It is open for investigation
in particular cases whether the best result would be obtained by being in the
university precincts or in a situation convenient for students but also
available to the public.
8.
We should enquire of all
branches in university towns
(a) The average number per annum of
undergraduates obtained as customer (show male/female separately).
(b) Proportion who remain with:-
(i) the branch
(ii) other branches of the bank
after graduation (male/female
separately)
(c) Whether they recommend any special
facilities, e.g. new sub branch.
We should co-ordinate our publicity
efforts with the activities of relative branch managers
who should be more fully aware of
what is being done.
Moving
in…
 To begin with, Lancaster University
itself is based at St Leonard’s Gate in the centre of the City. Thanks to the
gentle persuasion of Lancaster Manager Mr Youdell, a room is made available
from 18 October 1966 for Martins Bank to offer banking services to students,
Monday to Friday, between 12 noon and 3pm.
Princess Alexandra is appointed Chancellor of Lancaster University in
1964, and remains in this position for the next forty years. The permanent buildings are finished and
occupied in 1968, and the main thoroughfare and shopping area is named
“Alexandra Square” in honour of the Princess. On a tour of the new University, she is
photographed looking through the windows of the new branch. Martins Bank has arrived, and five years of
effort have paid off. Lancaster
University sub-Branch is upgraded quite quickly to Self Accounting status,
with its own sorting code and a clerk in charge available to make on
the spot decisions on student lending.
The following year, Lancaster University Branch is given its own
newspaper publicity (see “1969– How to make your money go further…” below) .
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1961-4 My
Bank’s Martins…
 Martins goes to extremes to help
students and young workers make the most of their limited budgets. These are
the days of the student grant, a precious commodity that has to be eked out
in baked beans, beer and rolled up tobacco over the year… The names of
Managers and their contact details are prominently displayed, and staff at
Martins Bank’s University Branches are trained to help students stretch out
their grant, or tide them over with a student overdraft. From 1961 to 1964 Martins Bank’s advertising
strategy employs the services of some “decent sorts” for a campaign that
should convince their fellow students that using a bank is the right
thing to do. Perhaps keeping your
money in a sock has finally been recognised as a bad move.
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TOP ROW left to right
1961 Liverpool University Student Magazine ‘PantEcho’
1961 Leicester
University Student Handbook
1961 Freshmen’s Guide
to Teacher Training College and The Technical College Freshmen’s Guide
BOTTOM ROW left to right
1961 Student Publications at Leeds and Oxford
1962/3 The Cambridge
University Students’ Union Varsity Handbook, 1963 “Sphincter” the Liverpool
University Medical School Magazine. 1962/3 The Birmingham University Guild
of Undergraduates’ Handbook.
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Images © Barclays
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1968 - Making the
most of your money
Even on the eve of the merger, Martins is still going all out to grab a
slice of the student market. Making the
Most of Your Money, and About a Bank Account are among the last to be seen
before the ubiquitous “a member of the Barclays Group” starts to infiltrate
publications.
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Images © Martins Bank Archive Collections
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Image © Barclays
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The
swinging sixties gives Martins the opportunity of a lifetime – to cash in at
last on the valuable youth banking market.
Advertisements aimed at students and young wage earners send out the
simple message that help is at hand, and that what little money these people
have is also SAFE. By March 1969, adverts such as the mid sixties campaigns
‘Counting Up’ and ‘Money for leisure, too’ have given way to the slightly bolder
‘How to make your money go further’, (see earlier in this feature) which is
carefully calculated to play upon students’ fears that everyone is out to
take their money, and that only a bank can make sense of it all. The key
selling point for these services is to show how they give control back to the
customer. Such control is however about to change hands forever, as at the
height of this campaign, the takeover of Martins Bank by Barclays is almost
complete…
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Image © Barclays
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ADVERTISING
TO STUDENTS
PUBLICATIONS
For
1968 a new advertisement has been designed, relating more closely to the
special leaflets produced by the Bank for students. It will appear in
general student publications and, mainly during the Autumn Term, in the
student newspapers and magazines of Universities with a Branch of the Bank
nearby.
NOTICE BOARDS MAGAZINE RACKS AND STAMP
MACHINES
Special
contractors install these free of charge in many educational
establishments, the cost being met by the sale of advertising space on or
adjacent to them. In consultation
with District Offices, they are used to advertise the services of local
Branches in some 300 universities, colleges and schools.
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By the mid to late 1960s the
Bank has a co-ordinated plan for attracting the custom of students.
Fundamental to the campaign are these special leaflets produced each year
by the Bank in time for university freshers’ week. Whether there is a
Martins Bank Branch on campus or not, there is a leaflet for just about
every university in England.
Packaged either as “About a bank account” or “You’ll need a bank
account whilst at the university” each leaflet provides information about
student banking, local maps of campuses or town/city centres, and
occasionally photographs of branches.
Students are reminded that Martins Bank is especially friendly to
students, and that is why so many student Bank with them.
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U E A Norwich
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Keele
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Kings Cambridge
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London
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Manchester
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Warwick
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Images © Martins
Bank Archive Collections
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1969 – How to make your money go further…
Image: © Martins Bank Archive Collections
Carry on Campus - Martins Bank’s University
Branches…
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Bradford
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Bristol
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Durham
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Lancaster
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Leeds
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 Liverpool
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Newcastle-upon-Tyne
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Sheffield
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York
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