Airdrie bank takes first steps outside home turf

Airdrie Savings Bank has confirmed plans to open a branch in Falkirk, the first time it has expanded out of Lanarkshire in its 175-year history, and is looking at other sites in the east of Scotland.

Britain's last remaining independent bank will open in Falkirk High Street in September, some 15 years after it first looked at opening a branch in the town. It eventually opted for Motherwell to become its seventh branch.

Bob Boyle, president, yesterday hailed the move to Falkirk as the first stage of an expansion that will see the bank open more branches across the country.

"Ideally, we would have gone to one of the major cities but I don't think we are ready for that," he said.

Boyle revealed that when the bank announced last March its intention to expand beyond its Lanarkshire boundaries that it was inundated with calls from local authorities who saw it as a model of banking they liked and a company that would be an asset to their stock of small companies.

The Airdrie's expansion is being supported by a number of Scotland's best-known business figures including Brian Souter, Ann Gloag, Ewan Brown, Alastair Salvesen and Sir Tom Farmer.

Their disillusionment with the UK banking sector led the group to come together to open deposit accounts said to total 10 million to support the bank's growth. The figure has never been confirmed but is said to be of that scale.

Boyle said: "It is a very important step forward for the bank and the beginning of what we believe will be an exciting period of expansion for Airdrie Savings Bank.

"We have chosen Falkirk because the town offers similar demographics to our existing business, has a robust business sector and draws from a different catchment area.

"It is also close enough to our current operations without conflicting in any way to make the launch and day to day running very manageable."

Jim Lindsay, general manager, said: "The distance is not very great but it is a big step for the bank. It helps us consider further opportunities in the east."

Souter said: "This is an historic moment for the bank and I am delighted to see they are taking their traditional banking approach to another part of Scotland."

Airdrie has 60,000 account holders with deposits of more than 120m. It has no shareholders and therefore pays no dividends. Surpluses are reinvested in the bank's reserves.