Zone d'identification
Cote
Titre
Date(s)
- 1935-1938 (Création/Production)
Niveau de description
Étendue matérielle et support
0.08 linear metres
Zone du contexte
Nom du producteur
Notice biographique
The P & O Banking Corporation Limited was established in 1920 by James MacKay (later Lord Inchcape) to develop the private banking business of the P & O Company. Under MacKay's stewardship (as Managing Director from 1914 and Chairman from 1915) the P & O had expanded rapidly, acquiring the British India Company amongst many others, and the bank was to be both a commercial venture and a device to manage the financial interests of the business.
On its establishment the Corporation acquired Allahabad Bank in India and opened offices in Colombo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canton (now Guangzhou). Allahabad Bank was always operated as a subsidiary, and wasn’t absorbed into the central organisation of the P & O Banking Corporation. The Corporation later expanded further in India under its own name, in Calicut (now Kozhikode in Kerala), Bombay and Madras (and the surrounding region). Lloyds and National Provincial bought shares in the new Corporation, reflecting the expectancy that a bank backed by the P & O would be a success.
In 1927 the Chartered Bank of India, China and Asia acquired seventy five percent of the Corporation's shares, effectively rendering the P & O Banking Corporation a subsidiary. In 1928 Chartered took over most of the remaining shareholding, and many of its Directors were elected to the Board of the Corporation in the subsequent years.
The P & O continued as a subsidiary company of the Chartered Bank for a further decade, though the Chartered Bank became dissatisfied with its performance. While the P & O had some merits as an institution (especially the business that came from the associated companies of the wider P & O group, and the success of Allahabad Bank in northern India), as a latecomer in international banking it often had to take on clients that existing institutions had refused. Furthermore many of the Corporation’s branches existed in locations (such as Shanghai, Hong Kong and Bombay) that were served by other banks, including the Chartered Bank. With the down turn of the world economy in the 1930s the P & O was operating in a reduced market place as a direct competitor to the branches of its parent company for considerably reduced profit, an untenable position for the Corporation and its owner.
The Chartered Bank of India, China and Australia took the decision to liquidate The P & O Banking Corporation in 1938. The liquidation date was set for 31 January 1939, when the bank's branches closed and the liquid assets were transferred to the Chartered Bank (it appears that they were transferred to the nearest branch of the Chartered Bank in many cases).
The Corporation's headquarters in Leadenhall Street, London, remained open as a branch of Chartered, and appears to have handled the final breaking up of the bank's assets, and the longer term issues around the dissolution of the Corporation.
P & O Banking Corporation Nominees (the subsidiary that handled the shares owned by the Bank) continued in name until the late 1960s. Allahabad Bank continued to be run separately as a subsidiary of Chartered Bank, as the nature of its business kept it as a viable business in its own right. It was nationalised by the Indian Government in 1969, and still exists as a private body.
Geographical range:
India, Sri Lanka, China and Singapore
Dépôt
Histoire archivistique
GB 0074 CLC/B/207/PC07 1935-1938 sub fonds 0.08 linear metres P & O Banking Corporation Limited
The P & O Banking Corporation Limited was established in 1920 by James MacKay (later Lord Inchcape) to develop the private banking business of the P & O Company. Under MacKay's stewardship (as Managing Director from 1914 and Chairman from 1915) the P & O had expanded rapidly, acquiring the British India Company amongst many others, and the bank was to be both a commercial venture and a device to manage the financial interests of the business.
On its establishment the Corporation acquired Allahabad Bank in India and opened offices in Colombo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canton (now Guangzhou). Allahabad Bank was always operated as a subsidiary, and wasn’t absorbed into the central organisation of the P & O Banking Corporation. The Corporation later expanded further in India under its own name, in Calicut (now Kozhikode in Kerala), Bombay and Madras (and the surrounding region). Lloyds and National Provincial bought shares in the new Corporation, reflecting the expectancy that a bank backed by the P & O would be a success.
In 1927 the Chartered Bank of India, China and Asia acquired seventy five percent of the Corporation's shares, effectively rendering the P & O Banking Corporation a subsidiary. In 1928 Chartered took over most of the remaining shareholding, and many of its Directors were elected to the Board of the Corporation in the subsequent years.
The P & O continued as a subsidiary company of the Chartered Bank for a further decade, though the Chartered Bank became dissatisfied with its performance. While the P & O had some merits as an institution (especially the business that came from the associated companies of the wider P & O group, and the success of Allahabad Bank in northern India), as a latecomer in international banking it often had to take on clients that existing institutions had refused. Furthermore many of the Corporation’s branches existed in locations (such as Shanghai, Hong Kong and Bombay) that were served by other banks, including the Chartered Bank. With the down turn of the world economy in the 1930s the P & O was operating in a reduced market place as a direct competitor to the branches of its parent company for considerably reduced profit, an untenable position for the Corporation and its owner.
The Chartered Bank of India, China and Australia took the decision to liquidate The P & O Banking Corporation in 1938. The liquidation date was set for 31 January 1939, when the bank's branches closed and the liquid assets were transferred to the Chartered Bank (it appears that they were transferred to the nearest branch of the Chartered Bank in many cases).
The Corporation's headquarters in Leadenhall Street, London, remained open as a branch of Chartered, and appears to have handled the final breaking up of the bank's assets, and the longer term issues around the dissolution of the Corporation.
P & O Banking Corporation Nominees (the subsidiary that handled the shares owned by the Bank) continued in name until the late 1960s. Allahabad Bank continued to be run separately as a subsidiary of Chartered Bank, as the nature of its business kept it as a viable business in its own right. It was nationalised by the Indian Government in 1969, and still exists as a private body.
Geographical range:
India, Sri Lanka, China and Singapore
Deposited in 1989.
Records of P & O Banking Corporation including files on buildings and grounds used by the Corporation that include agreements, contracts and terms of use of those properties.
Arranged as follows:
CLC/B/207/PC07/01 - Branch premises files
These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.
48 hours notice required for access.
Copyright is held by the depositor.
English
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997
Added January 2014 Maharashtra Salsette Island Mumbai South East Asia Singapore South Asia Sri Lanka Colombo P & O Banking Corporation Limited Finance Financial institutions Banks Overseas banks India Guangzhou Guangdong China East Asia Shanghai Shanghai Shi Madras Kerala Hong Kong
Source immédiate d'acquisition ou de transfert
Deposited in 1989.
Zone du contenu et de la structure
Portée et contenu
Records of P & O Banking Corporation including files on buildings and grounds used by the Corporation that include agreements, contracts and terms of use of those properties.
Évaluation, élimination et calendrier de conservation
Accroissements
Mode de classement
Arranged as follows:
CLC/B/207/PC07/01 - Branch premises files
Zone des conditions d'accès et d'utilisation
Conditions d'accès
These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.
48 hours notice required for access.
Conditions de reproduction
Copyright is held by the depositor.
Langue des documents
- anglais
Écriture des documents
- latin
Notes de langue et graphie
English
Caractéristiques matérielle et contraintes techniques
Instruments de recherche
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
Zone des sources complémentaires
Existence et lieu de conservation des originaux
Existence et lieu de conservation des copies
Unités de description associées
Zone des notes
Identifiant(s) alternatif(s)
Mots-clés
Mots-clés - Sujets
Mots-clés - Lieux
Mots-clés - Noms
Mots-clés - Genre
Zone du contrôle de la description
Identifiant de la description
Identifiant du service d'archives
Règles et/ou conventions utilisées
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997
Statut
Niveau de détail
Dates de production, de révision, de suppression
Langue(s)
- anglais