M&S Bank

Marks & Spencer Financial Services plc, trading as M&S Bank, is a retail bank operating in the United Kingdom. It was formed as the financial services division of the British retailer Marks & Spencer Group (M&S) in 1985, and has been operated by HSBC Bank since it was sold in 2004. The bank launched as St Michael Financial Services in 1985, using Marks & Spencer's main brand at the time. It subsequently operated under the M&S Money brand from 2003 and later adopted the M&S Bank name when the bank was bought by HSBC.

Marks & Spencer Financial Services plc
M&S Bank plc
Formerly
M&S Money
St Michael Financial Services
Public
IndustryFinance and Insurance
Founded1985 as St Michael Financial Services plc
FounderMarks and Spencer
HeadquartersKings Meadow,
Chester
Key people
David Lister, Chairman and Non-executive director
Paul Spencer, Chief executive
ProductsFinancial services
ParentHSBC Bank plc
Websitebank.marksandspencer.com

M&S Bank provides services including current accounts, savings and credit products, as well as insurance.

History

Marks & Spencer launched St Michael Financial Services in 1985, operating its "Chargecard" store card. It was renamed Marks & Spencer Financial Services in 1988, and Marks and Spencer Unit Trust Management was established to provide unit trust funds.[1]

The company introduced the M&S Money brand in 2003, at the time that Marks & Spencer began to introduce its "Your M&S" branding.

In 2004, as part of an effort to reduce costs and return money to shareholders,[2] Marks & Spencer reached an agreement to sell the company to HSBC for £580 million. Under the terms of the sale, it was agreed that M&S and HSBC would share profits from M&S Money until at least 2019.[3]

In 2012, M&S Bank began to open branches within existing Marks & Spencer retail stores.[4]

Services

M&S Bank provides a range of banking, credit and insurance products to personal customers, and operates a number of branches within M&S stores. More recently it launched its brand of mortgages. It also provides internet banking services. As the company is a subsidiary of HSBC, it uses the M&S brand under licence from Marks & Spencer.[5]

M&S Bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. It subscribes to the Lending Code.[6]

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References
  1. "Our history". Marks & Spencer Financial Services plc. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  2. "M&S sets out fightback strategy". BBC News Online. 12 July 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  3. Cave, Andrew (13 October 2012). "The Sunday Interview: Colin Kersley, chief of M&S Bank". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  4. Goff, Sharlene; Thompson, Jennifer; Jenkins, Patrick (8 June 2012). "M&S to launch bank with HSBC". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  5. "Legal information". Marks & Spencer Financial Services plc. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  6. "Subscribers". Lending Standards Board. Retrieved 5 November 2015.

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