a position of great importance by absorbing smaller banks, and when
the London & Westminster Bank amalgamated with the London &
County Banking Company, Ltd., in 1909 it was thought that the
matter would rest there. Nine years later, however—in Feb. 1918,
to be precise—a further addition to the strength of the combined
institutions was made by the amalgamation with Parr's Bank, and
the title of the bank was finally fixed as the London County
Westminster & Parr's Bank. Ltd. As the bank now stands it represents
six original clearing banks, viz., the London County & Westminster
Bank; Jones, Lloyd & Co.; London & County Bank; Alliance Bank
(subsequently changed to Parr's Bank); Fowler, Banbury & Co.,
and the Consolidated Bank. In Ireland the London County &
Westminster Bank has affiliated with the Ulster Bank, Ltd., and it
also has foreign auxiliaries in France, Belgium and Spain. The total
number of banks and affiliations represented in 1921 was sixty.
The rise of the London Joint City & Midland Bank, Ltd., is no less
remarkable. It was first established in 1836 as the Birmingham and
Midland Bank, and although it absorbed a number of small banks
from 1851 onwards, its first great step forward may be said to date
from 1891, when it absorbed the Central Bank of London, Ltd., and
adopted the new title of The London & Midland Bank, Ltd. Then,
in 1898, it absorbed the old City Bank and again altered its name to
the London City & Midland Bank, Ltd. Other amalgamations soon
followed, and the principal absorptions were those of banks of such
provincial fame as the Sheffield Banking Co., the North & South
Wales Bank, and the Bradford Banking Co. Further additions
were made by the purchase of the share capital of banks wider
afield, and the bank now owns the Belfast Banking Co. and the
Clydesdale Bank. The great amalgamation came, however, in 1918,
when the London Joint Stock Bank, Ltd., which came into existence
in July, 1836, was absorbed, and the title of the whole concern was
changed to its present one of the London Joint City & Midland Bank,
Ltd. As it now stands it represents what were formerly 65 banks.
Lloyd's Bank, Ltd., is remarkable for the series of amalgamations
that have marked its rise to fame. The real origin of the bank can
be traced back to 1765, although it was not incorporated as a joint
stock bank until 1865. According to repute, it has taken over by
amalgamation or absorption more banking concerns than any other
similar institution. Including its affiliated institutions and foreign
auxiliaries it represents a total banking strength of what were
formerly 119 separate banks. Among some of the more important
joint stock banks which this bank has absorbed during its career
are: the Shropshire Banking Co., the Coventry & Warwickshire
Banking Co., the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank, the West City &
County Banking Co., Bristol & West of England Bank, and the
Wilts & Dorset Banking Co. The great amalgamation came,
however, when the Capital & Counties Bank, Ltd., was absorbed. The
Capital & Counties Bank, as it happens, was itself established in
1834 and some six years later commenced to absorb other banks. In
fact from 1877 to 1907 it acquired the business of no fewer than 26
other banks. Its career as a separate institution came to an end in
the early part of 1918, when it was amalgamated with Lloyd's Bank,
Ltd. Since then Lloyd's Bank has absorbed the West Yorkshire
Bank and Messrs. Fox, Fowler & Co. of Somerset. It is also closely
associated with the London & River Plate Bank and the National
Bank of Scotland.
Barclay's Bank, Ltd., has an almost unique history. Until the
year 1896 it was simply a private banking house carrying the name
of Barclay & Co. Then it suddenly sprang into fame as being the
originator of the amalgamations as we know them to-day. In 1896
the banking world was really taken by surprise by the announcement
that Barclay & Co. had absorbed, at one sitting, 15 other private
banks and had become incorporated at the same time. From that
moment Barclay's progressed rapidly; the bank soon absorbed other
institutions, such as the York Union Banking Co., Bolitho Williams
& Co., Stamford, Spalding & Boston Bank, Ltd., and Neville, Reid &
Co. The absorption of the United Counties Bank, Ltd., followed in
1916. A further large addition to its sphere of influence came in
1918 when the London & Provincial & South Western Bank was
acquired, itself an amalgamation of two large joint stock banks.
By this step over 250 branches in London and suburbs were added
to its strength, and an interest acquired in the French subsidiary—Cox
& Co. (France), Ltd. In 1919-20 Barclay's Bank extended
its sphere still farther by affiliations with the Union Bank of
Manchester, the British Linen Bank and the Anglo-Egyptian Bank, thus
giving it a total banking strength of 102 banks.
The last of the “big five” is the National Provincial & Union
Bank of England, Ltd. The National Provincial was itself formed in
1833, while the Union Bank of London, though not really established
until 1839, can claim through one of its constituent institutions to
date back to 1688. The principal absorptions for which the combined
institutions have been responsible are: the County of Stafford Bank;
Isle of Wight Joint Stock Bank; London & Yorkshire Bank; Briscoe's
Bank; Smith, Payne & Smith's; Union Bank of London. The Union
Bank of London, it is interesting to note, itself amalgamated with
Smith, Payne & Smith's, London, Smith Ellison & Co., Lincoln,
Smith, Smith Bros. & Co., Hull, and Samuel Smith & Co., Derby,
and the title was changed to the Union of London & Smith's Bank,
Ltd., in 1902. The latter institution was amalgamated with the
National Provincial Bank in 1917, the title adopted being the
National Provincial Union Bank of England, Ltd. The Sheffield
Banking Co. was absorbed in Dec. 1917 and the Bradford District
Bank on Jan. 1 1919. A year later an affiliation was made with Cox &
Co., the well-known firm of private bankers who had themselves
amalgamated with Robarts, Lubbock & Co. as recently as 1914.
Finally, the National Provincial & Union Bank of England, Ltd.,
absorbed the Northamptonshire Union Bank, Ltd., in 1920. With
its auxiliary bank, Lloyd's & National Provincial Foreign Bank, Ltd.,
this institution now Represents what were formerly 63 banks.
The resources of the “big five” were, of course, very
substantial before the amalgamations, and as the following table
will show, there had been no diminution up to 1921:—
Concerning the reasons for amalgamation, little need be said.
The war undoubtedly drove the leading London bankers to
look for increased financial resources, in order to cope with the
increased magnitude of the operations they were being called
upon to finance. Fashion, the desire to out-bid other institutions,
the element of self-preservation, banking evolution, the conven-
