The Other British Non-Clearing Banks

Until 1975 the British non-clearing banks, other than the accepting houses, comprised a heterogeneous collection of financial institutions, some reporting to the Bank of England and for whom statistical information is therefore available, and some with a degree of banking status (the ‘Section 123’ banks) which did not furnish returns to the Bank and were therefore excluded from its supervision and control. However, the statistical series provided for these banks are harder to interpret than in other cases because changes in coverage are more frequent. The crisis which overtook the banking sector in 1973–5 affected banks in both categories, although mainly affecting the non-reporting banks. This crisis is discussed in detail by Reid (1982). The reporting (listed’ or ‘statistical’) banks included some which were close in concept to a merchant bank, usually enjoying membership of the Issuing Houses Association but not of the prestigious Accepting Houses Committee, some which had expanded from a small base in the 1960s, and the subsidiaries of the clearing banks set up in the late 1960s to compete in the new money markets.