Bradford Equitable Building Society was an English
building society
A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Kingdo ...
, which merged with the
Bingley Building Society
Bingley Building Society was a UK building society, which merged with the Bradford Equitable Building Society in 1964 to form the Bradford & Bingley Building Society. Bradford & Bingley fell victim to the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and is n ...
in 1964 to form the
Bradford & Bingley Building Society
Bradford & Bingley plc was a British bank with headquarters in the West Yorkshire town of Bingley.
The bank was formed in December 2000 by demutualisation of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society following a vote of the building society's mem ...
. Bradford & Bingley fell victim to the
financial crisis of 2007–2010 and is now part of
Santander UK, while its mortgage book is owned by
UK Financial Investments Limited.
History
The Bradford Second Equitable Building Society, as it was known for most of its existence, was formed in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
in 1851. The reason for it being the “Second” is that in 1846 the Bradford Equitable Building and Investment Company had been formed as a terminating society (i.e. on achieving its objectives, it was wound up). The need for a more permanent organisation led to the formation of the “Bradford Second” and the two societies had several directors in common.
[Francis E Lumb, ''Second Thoughts A History of the Bradford Equitable Building Society'', 1951, Bradford ] [Tony Whiting, ''Work Makes Wealth A History of Bradford & Bingley Building Society 1851-1959'', 1989, Keighley]
By the end of its first year the Society had 503 shareholders and 54 borrowers. Early advances were typically on houses under construction, paid in installments. Borrowers were builders and property investors. The foreword to Francis Lumb's history proclaimed that “There is nothing spectacular in this history” but this reflected a conservatism that allowed it to survive recessions and financial panics alike. Like many societies, Bradford Second did not immediately incorporate under the 1874 Building Society Act,
[for background to the Act, see: Seymore J Price, ''Building Societies Their Origin and History, Chap. XII''I, 1958, London ] valuing the long-standing importance of the Trustees over the benefits of limited liability. After lengthy debate, it eventually incorporated in1882. Another example of the Society's attitude to limited liability was in1879 when three Bradford banks proposed adopting that structure; the response was to spread the money around.
[
Geographic expansion was slow but steady until ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
– the first agencies were not opened in the Bradford suburbs until 1914. The Leeds Equitable Building Society was acquired in 1921 and during the 1920s, the Society's assets quadrupled. In 1930 a London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
office was opened but the only other branch in theinter-war years was at Enfield in 1938. After WWII
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the Society began a more vigorous branch expansion. Between 1945 and 1948, eleven branches were opened. Unlike its future partner, the Bingley, there was a wider geographic spread and a concentration on the larger cities – Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
and Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. In that same period, the merger of the Leeds Provincial with the Bradford Third Equitable enabled the Society to simplify its name to the Bradford Equitable Building Society. Another eight branches followed in the early 1960s and then came the merger approach from the neighbouring Bingley Building Society
Bingley Building Society was a UK building society, which merged with the Bradford Equitable Building Society in 1964 to form the Bradford & Bingley Building Society. Bradford & Bingley fell victim to the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and is n ...
The merger was implemented in 1964 and the Bradford and Bingley
Bradford & Bingley plc was a British bank with headquarters in the West Yorkshire town of Bingley.
The bank was formed in December 2000 by demutualisation of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society following a vote of the building society's mem ...
became the eighth largest building society with total assets of more than £100 million, and a national branch network of more than 50 branches.[
]
References
External links
Santander website
Companies based in Bradford
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