It was at the time an extraordinary decision to buy it but five years on and a British bank – jointly owned by Cambridgeshire Local Government Pension Fund and Trinity Hall, Cambridge- has turned in record profits.

Cambridge & Counties Bank was bought in 2012 by the pension fund and college and last year saw its profits leap to £18.1 million – up 77 per cent on the 2015 figure of £10.2 million.

The bank revealed today its deposits and lending was also at record levels as customer satisfaction rates show a remarkable 99 per cent support.

The joint venture was one of the main accomplishments of former county council leader Nick Clarke who promised at the time “it would also mean that money from public services pensions is being used to support the economy, create jobs and improve the quality of life for our communities.

“The return on investment will reduce the burden on local taxpayers and leave more money available for frontline services. The bank has been properly assessed and is a very good investment. I am really pleased that we are taking a lead here and investing with Trinity Hall in this exciting opportunity.”

City AM, the main London paper for financiers, said that at a time when other lenders are laying off staff, Cambridge staff numbers rose from 94 to 121.

It quoted Mike Kirsopp, chief executive, who said that: “Despite growing competition from traditional banks and new entrants, demand for our product range and the service we offer has remained strong.

“With increasing profits providing the capital to fund our balance sheet growth and our expectation of a relatively stable interest rate environment, we are optimistic for further strong growth in 2017.”