Banks Disestablished in 1970 - National Provincial Bank, Westminster Bank, District Bank, Williams Deacon's Bank (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Not illustrated. Excerpt: National Provincial Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1833 until its merger into the National Westminster Bank in 1970. Considered one of the Big Five, it expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies. The National Provincial Bank was organised as a joint-stock company by Thomas Joplin in 1833. At the time, the Bank of England had exclusive statutory power to issue banknotes within a 65-mile (105 km) radius of London. Although the bank's administrative offices were in London, it decided to open its branches outside the 65 mile radius so that the bank could issue its own notes. From the beginning National Provincial lived up to its name, serving provincial customers throughout England. The bank was without a national competitor for about 60 years. By 1836 it had over 20 branches across England and Wales. The first branch of the bank was opened on 1 January 1834 in Gloucester. Like the District Bank, the company planned to establish new branches and acquire smaller banks, and by 1835 it had opened 20 new offices. The bank's expansion continued throughout the nineteenth century with new branch openings and by taking over smaller local banking companies: The classic NatWest arrowheads device, said either to symbolise circulation of money in the financial system or the bank's three constituents. By the mid-1860s, National Provincial had acquired more than a dozen small banks and had established 122 branches and sub-branches throughout England and Wales. It finally opened a London banking office in 1866, recognising that a presence in the world's financial capital was worth the sacrifice of its note-issuing privilege. In 1866 the ban... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=2138362