Birmingham’s bank plans hit
Author: Local Government Chronicle |
Birmingham City Council’s original plans to set up a municipal bank are unworkable due to the legal confusion surrounding councils’ ability to act in the interest of their areas, councillors have claimed.
The council planned to establish a municipal bank to provide loans to businesses, mortgages and a savings and deposits service.
However, it received legal advice that a deposits service would have gone beyond its legal powers.
An overview and scrutiny committee review found the savings bank would have been undermined by the Court of Appeal’s recent ruling that the wellbeing powers were insufficient for a group of London boroughs to set up a mutual insurance company.