Corporation of Foreign Bondholders

In 1868 the Association of Foreign Bondholders was formed as a profit-making body. It was financed to a total of £60,000 by subscribers who were given certificates bearing interest at 5% In 1873 the "Corporation of Foreign Bondholders" was incorporated under licence from the Board of Trade as an association without profits. The 5% certificates were replaced by certificates of permanent membership with the right to elect members to the Council of the Corporation. Many certificates eventually passed into the hands of non-bondholders, some of whom wanted a return to profit-making status. The act of Parliament of 1898 provided for the redemption of the certificates and vested the right to nominate members to the Council in public bodies. The Corporation was entrusted by Parliament with the duty, amongst others, of watching over and protecting the rights and interests of holders of foreign government bonds and of making, for this purpose, representations to foreign governments. The Council of the Corporation consisted of 21 ordinary members, six of whom were appointed by the British Bankers' Association, six by the London Chamber of Commerce, and nine co-opted by the Council as a whole. The Corporation worked in close co-operation with independent bodies which dealt with particular countries or loans, such as the League Loans Committee (an international body), the Chinese Bondholders' Committee and the Committee of British Long-Term and Medium-Term Creditors of Germany. The Corporation was based at Palmerston Buildings, 34 Old Broad Street (1870-1872), 10/17 Moorgate (1873-1969), 68 Queen Street (1970-1975), 9-12 Cheapside (1976-1982) and 35 High Street, Bromley in Kent (1982-8). The Corporation went into liquidation in 1988.