Lombard Banking Ltd

New Credit Corporation Ltd was incorporated in Bournemouth in 1946 as successor to Acceptance Credit Corporation, which had been incorporated in 1938 but never traded. In 1947 the company name changed to Lombard Banking Ltd. Branches were later established in Croydon, Brighton, Canterbury and Guildford.

The business's deposit service flourished and was supplemented with other forms of banking business, including the operation of current accounts, discounting bills of exchange and letters of credit and financing of documentary export bills. In 1950 the company's head office moved to London. Between 1958 and 1964 bank assets grew from £40 million to £59.7 million. Lombard Banking also carried non-resident accounts and in the 1950s established a number of overseas subsidiaries in Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Lebanon, Australia, Singapore and Malaya, Cyprus, Ceylon, Canada and Switzerland. In 1964 Lombard Bank Ireland Ltd was established in Dublin.

In 1951 Lombard acquired a hire purchase company called London & Provincial Motor & Tractor Co Ltd (est. 1946), changing its name to Lombank Ltd in 1953. In 1953 Lombard Marcroft Ltd was also established as a joint hire purchase venture (later wholly owned) with Marcroft Wagons Ltd. All the company’s hire purchase and credit finance activities were hived off to the Lombank subsidiary and from 1957 Lombard Banking operated solely as a bank. Lombank, specialising in credit finance and leasing facilities for commerce, the motor trade, industry and agriculture, also flourished and in 1959 moved to Croydon.

Lombard acquired Equity Credit Corporation Ltd; an interest in Devon House Finance Co Ltd of Ewell in 1956 (wholly owned from 1964), which had a similar business to Lombank focused on the London and Home Counties retail trade; Awley Finance Co Ltd of Manchester in 1958, one of the country's largest domestic equipment and appliance finance companies; and a 51% interest in Tricity Finance Corporation Ltd in 1959, which provided retail credit facilities largely for Thorn Electrical's household and leisure products.

Although 1958 to 1962 was a difficult period for finance houses in the UK, Lombard's profits grew from £44,377 in 1951 to £2.69m in 1964. By 1965 the company had over 80 branches throughout the UK and had become one of the UK’s largest finance houses.

In 1970 Lombard Banking and its subsidiaries were taken over by the newly-formed National Westminster Bank. Lombard North Central was subsequently formed by National Westminster Bank in 1971 through the merger - effected by an Act of Parliament - of Lombard Banking and North Central Finance.

Summary of our archive holdings

Our archival records of Lombard Banking Ltd have the reference code LOM.

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

• registers of directors 1947-75
• annual reports and accounts 1952-70
• staff magazines 1962-70
• promotional leaflet 1967
• amalgamation papers 1969-71