Midland pulls out of ethnic bank scheme
Midland Bank has scrapped plans to launch Britain’s first ethnic bank aimed at Asian businessmen.
Last year, it confirmed it was in talks with a group of 20 Anglo-Asian businessmen to launch a high street bank aimed at Asian small and medium-sized businesses. One of the 20 was the multimillionaire chairman of the London Metal Exchange, Raj Bagri.
A spokesman for Midland confirms talks broke down because the two parties could not reach agreement. It is understood that one of the reasons was the level of Midland’s involvement. The bank would have had a separate brand, but Midland would not have had full control.
