The collapse of the Welsh banks
The financial crises of the past few years and, in particular, the near collapse of several banks and building societies undoubtedly rocked our social and economic world. But problems like that are nothing new, they have been with us for years.
These days when we think of banks we think of the big five, the major establishments that we see every day on the High Street. However, Britain - and Wales in particular - was once awash with small banks. Almost every town or village had its bank, local enterprises run and backed by local investors. These small banks - establishments like the Bala Bank of north Wales, Woods Bank of Cardiff or the Aberystwyth and Tregaron Bank - were invariably linked to the trade or economy of their area.
Bank note from the Aberystwyth & Tregaron Bank. It was known as 'Banc y Ddafad Ddu' or 'Bank of the Black Sheep'.
Government legislation decreed that, until the mid 1820s, banks were allowed no more than six investors or backers. That meant that many of these small banks were desperately short of capital investment. That was fine when everything was going well but when times were hard or even when rumour - often maliciously put around by competitors - caused people to fear for their deposits there would be a "run" on the bank. Without the capital to weather the storm many of them found themselves in serious difficulty.
As a result, many Welsh banks collapsed, particularly in the 1820s and 30s, in the wake of national events like the South Sea Bubble. Others survived, limping on for a while before being taken over by larger institutions so that by the middle years of the 20th century there were virtually no freestanding Welsh banks.
Wherever they were situated, all of the Welsh banks issued their own notes, redeemable only at the premises of the bank itself or at any other bank with which it had a reciprocal arrangement.
"The notes are quite beautiful pieces of art," says Edward Besley, "and they're usually related to the area where the bank was situated or to its name. So the Bank of the Black Ox, for example, had oxen drawn and printed on the front of its notes. Others had views of the town where it was based or other significant landmarks."
View a slideshow of Welsh bank notes.
The National Museum of Wales has a collection of these notes, many of them with endorsements on the back relating to the liquidation meetings called when the bank had run into difficulty.
There has never been a National Bank of Wales although there have been numerous calls for such a thing. So far it has never happened - maybe in the future?
The story of the Welsh banks is told on Past Master, which is broadcast on Sunday 7 March, 4.30pm, BBC Radio Wales.
Comment number 1.
At 17:01 15th Mar 2010, herbert williams wrote:This well-researched piece reminds me of my time as a young reporter on the Welsh Gazette, a now defunct weekly paper in Aberystwyth. Our offices in Bridge Street were opposite a building once occupied by a branch of the Black Sheep bank. The bank's insignia may still be there. I wonder if the name of the bank was inspired by the actions of the notorious Sir Herbert Lloyd of Peterwell,Lampeter, who in the mid-18th century framed a man whose land he coveted by having a black ram pushed down his cottage chimney. Sheep stealing was then a capital offence so the man was hanged in Cardigan. The tale of the Black Ram lived long in Welsh hearts, but I fear few remember it now.
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