Bank of Liverpool - The Move To London

The Move To London

The next stage in the Bank’s development was to seek a London presence and, in particular, to gain a seat in the London Clearing House. Unsuccessful overtures were made to both Glyn’s (the Bank’s London agent), and to Cocks, Biddulph. However, the Bank’s Chairman “was successful in persuading the chairman…of Martins Bank to agree to amalgamation and to accept the primacy of the Bank of Liverpool”. Martins in turn recognised its need to expand into the provinces and the acquisition of Martins duly too place in 1918. Although Martins was much smaller than the Bank of Liverpool, the goodwill of its name and its seat on the Clearing House, meant that it was the only one of Liverpool’s acquisition to preserve its name; the enlarged entity was called the Bank of Liverpool and Martins and when the name was eventually shortened in 1928, it was to just Martins Bank. The increased standing possessed by the Bank of Liverpool following its entry into the clearing house system then persuaded the private West End firm of Cocks, Biddulph to agree to its acquisition. By 1919, the Bank of Liverpool had become a national bank but one still based in the provinces.