Alliance Bank (London & Liverpool)

This joint stock bank was established in 1862 as Alliance Bank of London & Liverpool Ltd with premises and directors in both London and Liverpool. It had a paid-up capital of £250,000. The bank was an immediate success and was admitted to the London Clearing House in 1863. Branches were opened at Southwark (1863), Birkenhead (1863) and Manchester (1864). In 1864, when customer deposits totalled £6 million, the bank’s title was altered to Alliance Bank Ltd to reflect its geographical spread. During the following years it experienced large losses and, during the financial panic of 1866, a run on all its branches. Continuing poor results led to an abortive proposal, in 1869, to reconstruct the business by separating the Liverpool business as Palatine Bank Ltd.

In the early 1870s parts of the business were sold to other banks. Southwark branch was sold to London Joint Stock Bank in 1870, and in 1871 the Liverpool business was sold to National Bank of Liverpool. The remaining business was transferred to a new company, also known as Alliance Bank Ltd. In 1872 the bank's Manchester branch was sold to Lancashire & Yorkshire Bank. Alliance Bank subsequently expanded its branch representation in London.

In 1892 Alliance Bank Ltd amalgamated with Parr’s Banking Co to form Parr’s Banking Co & the Alliance Bank Ltd.

Branches: The bank opened 15 branches between 1862 and 1892. In 1892 12 branches were operating.

Published histories

• TE Gregory, The Westminster Bank through a Century (London: Oxford University Press, 1936)

Summary of our archive holdings

Our archival records of Alliance Bank Ltd of London and Liverpool have the reference code ALL.

For help understanding words used here, check our glossary of banking record types (PDF 68 KB).

Corporate records

• prospectus 1862
• memorandum and articles of association 1862
• share register 1862
• register of shareholders 1863-1866
• half-yearly reports 1863-5, 1878
• annual reports 1863-78
• sub-committee meeting minute book 1865-1886
• directors’ correspondence 1866, 1887-1888
• papers re reconstruction 1868-1871
• papers re transfer of branches: National Bank of Liverpool 1869-1871, London Joint Stock Bank 1870
• London committee meetings minute book 1869-1878
• circulars to foreign agents 1860s
• directors’ meeting minute books 1871-1892
• general meeting minute book 1871-1892
• seal register 1882-1895
• half-yearly general meeting reports 1885-1890
• branch committee meeting minute books 1886-1892
• shareholder register 1890
• directors’ meeting rough minute books 1891-1892
• amalgamation papers 1892
• printing plates, share certificates n.d.

Financial records

• accounting papers 1867-1868
• bill of exchange 1879

Legal records

• solicitors’ bills 1862-1864
• legal opinion on articles of association 1865

Customer records

• letterbooks of London customer 1859-1865
• customer securities register 1862-1865
• settling ticket 1863
• cheque 1878
• credit slip 1885
• undertaking form 1893

Head office branch records

• guardbook of circulars, presscuttings and procedural instructions 1866-1918
• rules for branch managers 1889

Staff records

• staff dinner menu 1877
• staff appointment papers 1879, 1890
• rules: branch managers 1887-1889, staff 1880s
• staff life insurance rules n.d.-1880s
• walk clerk instructions 1890s

Property records

• branch architectural drawings 1882-1888

Branch records

• selected records

Summary of archive holdings elsewhere

• HSBC Group Archives: London, Southwark branch: signature books 1864-1928