10 Facts About Midland Bank

Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century.

Midland Bank was founded by Charles Geach, its first manager in Union Street, Birmingham, England, in August 1836.

Midland Bank oversaw more than twenty bank amalgamations between 1891 and 1918, and opened new branches throughout England and Wales.

Midland Bank responded to the ending of credit restrictions in 1958, by extending its branch network and by introducing a series of innovative services, including personal loans, personal cheque accounts and cheque cards .

In 1974, Midland began to open branches or representative offices in overseas countries and to acquire other international banks.

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The largest of these was the purchase of a majority share in Crocker National of California, United States: this was not a success and Midland Bank was forced to take full ownership in 1985 so that it could sell it to Wells Fargo the following year.

Midland Bank was renamed HSBC Bank in June 1999, as part of the adoption of the HSBC brand throughout the Group.

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.

Midland Bank still traded as Midland Bank, but 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 Limited, continues to be registered at Companies House.