Metadata : Committee of London Clearing Bankers
Collection
- Country:
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Holding institution:
- London Metropolitan Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- London Metropolitan Archives
- Postal address:
- 40 Northampton RoadLondonGreater LondonUnited KingdomEC1R 0HBFax: +44 (0) 20 7833 9136
- Phone number:
- Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7332 3820
- Country:
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Holding institution:
- London Metropolitan Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- London Metropolitan Archives
- Postal address:
- 40 Northampton RoadLondonGreater LondonUnited KingdomEC1R 0HBFax: +44 (0) 20 7833 9136
- Phone number:
- Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7332 3820
- Reference number:
- CLC/B/029-04
- Title:
- Committee of London Clearing Bankers
- Title (official language):
- Committee of London Clearing Bankers
- Date(s):
- 1821/1988
- Language:
- English
- Extent:
- Circa 1145 production units
- Scope and content:
- Records of the Committee of London Clearing Bankers, later known as the Committee of London and Scottish Bankers, including minute books of various Committees; papers relating to advertising, public relations, exhibitions and shows including photographs; papers relating to the banking information service; papers relating to bank staff associations and employment in banks; statistics; papers relating to banking arrangements for coal, gas, electricity, transport, iron and steel, shipbuilding, agriculture, industry, exports, small firms, students and the disabled; and papers relating to matters concerning banks including income tax, bank taxation, stamp duty, professional secrecy, nationalisation, security and fraud, hours of business, accounting procedures, legislation, investments, foreign currency and debit rates.The records of the Committee of London Clearing Banks have been consulted in connection with attempts by Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, or their heirs, through the Holocaust Education Trust, to retrieve money lodged for safety with British banks before the Second World War. Although the records do not contain information about individual account holders, they do shed light on the clearing banks’ policy and in particular their administration of the Trading with the Enemy Act 1939.The basic idea of the Trading with the Enemy Act was to identify and control enemy property for the duration of the war, both to deny the enemy the benefit of such property during hositilities and to restore it to him afterwards. The main definition of “enemy” rested on residence rather than nationality, so a British citizen living in Germany was for the purposes of the Act an “enemy”, while a German living in the United Kingdom was not. “Enemy” countries included those under military occupation. Consequently Jewish families both in Germany and in countries occupied by the Axis powers were all defined as “enemies”.“Custodians of Enemy Property” were appointed, whose function was to keep control over enemy assets. The existence of enemy property, including bank accounts, was notified to them and they took control of it, although they did not necessarily take actual custody. At the end of the war control was transferred to the Administrator(s) of Enemy Property who were responsible for the restoration of property.The Holocaust Education Trust has been concerned that the frozen assets were never properly restored. This issue was the subject of a World in Action programme on 8 September 1997 and has been followed up by a number of newspapers including The Jewish Chronicle which photographed the BBA’s records at Guildhall Library to illustrate their story.These records proved to be a small, but important piece of the jigsaw, complementing the records of the Trading with the Enemy Department held by The National Archives. Unfortunately, the records of the Administrator of German Enemy Property in the Department of Trade and Industry are in disarray, so attention moved to those held by the banks. The banks’ research was co-ordinated by the BBA.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Committee of London Clearing Bankers was based at 10 Lombard Street. It was formed in 1821 as the Committee of Bankers to oversee the London Clearing House (no records of the London Clearing House are held, except those of Bankers’ Clearing House Ltd). It also came to represent the interests of the London private and joint stock banks and later the "Big Five" clearing banks. It was renamed the Committee of London and Scottish Bankers in 1985. In 1991, it was subsumed into the British Bankers’ Association.
- Access points: locations:
- London
- Access, restrictions:
- Access by appointment only. Please contact staff.
- Finding aids:
- Online catalogue.
- Links to finding aids:
- http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
- Yerusha Network member:
- AIM25
- Author of the description:
- London Metropolitan Archives
- Reference number:
- CLC/B/029-04
- Title:
- Committee of London Clearing Bankers
- Title (official language):
- Committee of London Clearing Bankers
- Date(s):
- 1821/1988
- Language:
- English
- Extent:
- Circa 1145 production units
- Scope and content:
- Records of the Committee of London Clearing Bankers, later known as the Committee of London and Scottish Bankers, including minute books of various Committees; papers relating to advertising, public relations, exhibitions and shows including photographs; papers relating to the banking information service; papers relating to bank staff associations and employment in banks; statistics; papers relating to banking arrangements for coal, gas, electricity, transport, iron and steel, shipbuilding, agriculture, industry, exports, small firms, students and the disabled; and papers relating to matters concerning banks including income tax, bank taxation, stamp duty, professional secrecy, nationalisation, security and fraud, hours of business, accounting procedures, legislation, investments, foreign currency and debit rates.The records of the Committee of London Clearing Banks have been consulted in connection with attempts by Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, or their heirs, through the Holocaust Education Trust, to retrieve money lodged for safety with British banks before the Second World War. Although the records do not contain information about individual account holders, they do shed light on the clearing banks’ policy and in particular their administration of the Trading with the Enemy Act 1939.The basic idea of the Trading with the Enemy Act was to identify and control enemy property for the duration of the war, both to deny the enemy the benefit of such property during hositilities and to restore it to him afterwards. The main definition of “enemy” rested on residence rather than nationality, so a British citizen living in Germany was for the purposes of the Act an “enemy”, while a German living in the United Kingdom was not. “Enemy” countries included those under military occupation. Consequently Jewish families both in Germany and in countries occupied by the Axis powers were all defined as “enemies”.“Custodians of Enemy Property” were appointed, whose function was to keep control over enemy assets. The existence of enemy property, including bank accounts, was notified to them and they took control of it, although they did not necessarily take actual custody. At the end of the war control was transferred to the Administrator(s) of Enemy Property who were responsible for the restoration of property.The Holocaust Education Trust has been concerned that the frozen assets were never properly restored. This issue was the subject of a World in Action programme on 8 September 1997 and has been followed up by a number of newspapers including The Jewish Chronicle which photographed the BBA’s records at Guildhall Library to illustrate their story.These records proved to be a small, but important piece of the jigsaw, complementing the records of the Trading with the Enemy Department held by The National Archives. Unfortunately, the records of the Administrator of German Enemy Property in the Department of Trade and Industry are in disarray, so attention moved to those held by the banks. The banks’ research was co-ordinated by the BBA.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Committee of London Clearing Bankers was based at 10 Lombard Street. It was formed in 1821 as the Committee of Bankers to oversee the London Clearing House (no records of the London Clearing House are held, except those of Bankers’ Clearing House Ltd). It also came to represent the interests of the London private and joint stock banks and later the "Big Five" clearing banks. It was renamed the Committee of London and Scottish Bankers in 1985. In 1991, it was subsumed into the British Bankers’ Association.
- Access points: locations:
- London
- Access, restrictions:
- Access by appointment only. Please contact staff.
- Finding aids:
- Online catalogue.
- Links to finding aids:
- http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
- Yerusha Network member:
- AIM25
- Author of the description:
- London Metropolitan Archives
