LLOYDS BANK LIMITED, one of the great British joint stock banking companies familiarly known as the "big five." It was established in Birmingham in 1865 as Lloyds Banking Co., Ltd., amalgamating Lloyds and Company (which began business as early as 1765) and Moilliet and Sons. This was a direct out come of the passing of the Limited Liability Act of 1862. The two firms which founded the new business had a high reputation, and a few months after its formation the private banking firm of P. and H. Williams, of Wednesbury, became amalgamated with it. During the whole of the bank's history there has been a continu ous increase in its resources from the growth of business, and the policy of amalgamation has been steadily pursued, with conse quent economies. In the early days of its history, the bank ab sorbed, among others, the Warwick and Leamington Banking Company, the Shropshire Banking Company and the Coventry and Warwickshire Banking Company, and had spread its opera tions well over the counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire. In 1884 the businesses of Barnetts, Hoares and Co, and Bosanquet, Salt and Co, were taken over.
After four years, during which the combination of town and country business was thoroughly organized, the bank in 1888 recommenced the process of absorption, and hardly a year passed for a long period which did not bring the announcement that Lloyds had absorbed one or more banks. Altogether about 38 private and 15 joint stock banks were taken over, amongst the most important of them since 1888 being the Birmingham Joint Stock. the Worcester City and County, the Burton Union, the Liverpool Union, Hodgkin Barnett and Co., Lambton and Co., the Devon and Cornwall, the Wilts and Dorset, and more recently the Capital and Counties. The most recent amalgamation took place in 1923, when the businesses of Cox and Co., the well-known army bankers, and H. S. King and Co. were acquired. As a con
sequence Lloyds Bank has several branches in India and Burmah. In 1918 Lloyds Bank effected a union of interests with the Na tional Bank of Scotland Limited by a purchase of its stock, and with the London & River Plate Bank (now the Bank of London and South America Limited) by a purchase of shares. Each of these two banks, however, preserves its separate existence, direc-. tors and management.
Lloyds Bank and the National Provincial Bank of England (q.v.) are joint proprietors of Lloyds and National Provincial Foreign Bank Ltd., which has 15 offices in France, 2 ir. Belgium, and i in Switzerland, as well as its head offices in London. In ad dition Lloyds Bank has agents and correspondents throughout the British Empire and all over the world. It is also associated with the National Bank of New Zealand Ltd., the Bank of British West Africa Ltd., and the British Italian Banking Corporation Ltd. After the amalgamation with the two Lombard Street firms, the bank was known for a few year as Lloyds, Barnetts and Bo sanquets Bank Ltd., but in 1889 this name was cut down to the present short title Lloyds Bank Limited.
The growth of the bank has been remarkable. At the end of 1865 the offices numbered 14, its staff 5o, and its shareholders 865; the authorized capital was 12,000,000, the deposits amounted to and the total of the balance sheet to just over In 1928, the bank had over 1,75o offices, a staff of over 12,00o, and the shareholders numbered 63,00o. The author ized capital is e74,000,000, the paid-up capital is 115,810,252, and the reserve fund Li o,000,000. Deposits amount to over £357,000, 000, advances to customers to about £187,000,000, and the total of the balance sheet to over £428,000,000. The head office is in London. (See also BANKS, HISTORY OF.) (L. C. M.)