England boasts many international banks. Many of them are prominent players in the global finance sector and have branches almost in every country. Some of the major English banks are the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), the Barclays PLC, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Lloyds Banking Group, and Standard Chartered Bank.
The topmost bank among them is the HSBC. It is one of the largest international banks established in 1860 aiming to carry out trade transactions between Europe and Asia, mainly China and India. The founder of HSBC, Thomas Sutherland, a contractor, once worked for the British Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. During his career, he understood that there was a high demand for banks in Hong Kong and along the China Coast.
Fulfilling this need, he was instrumental in forming a bank called HSBC in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The operation of the bank rapidly expanded, and branches opened in the USA and Europe. During the 20th and 21st centuries, HSBC branches were established all over the world. Today its main office is at No. 8 Canada Square, London, E145 5HQ, UK. It holds $2.6 trillion worth of assets and serves 50 million customers in every major global economy which includes the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the USA.
Barclays PLC is a multinational financial and banking
Institution based in London. The bank is a major stakeholder in the fields of investments, wholesale, and retail, wealth management, lending, mortgage and credit cards. Barclays owns branches in over 50 countries and enjoys a large customer base of over 48 million.
The bank established itself in London in 1960, and later James Barclay joined the bank as a primary partner in 1736. After that in 1896, many other London banks such as the Gurney’s Bank and Backhouse’s Bank joined as partners. Since then the bank was known as Barclays and Company. By 1967, the bank established branches in every major city in England and launched the first Cash Dispenser of the world. The Primary Listing of the London Stock Exchange displays Barclays and the New York Stock Exchange in its secondary listing. The bank is in the FTSE 100 Index as well. The total worth of its assets (2015) was at £ 120 trillion. Presently, 129,400 employees work for the bank.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS Group), founded in 1727, and headquartered in Edinburgh, UK, providing a range of financial products such as commercial and personal banking, insurance, corporate financing, investment, mortgage, etc.
The bank boasts of branches in Asia, North America, Europe, and Ireland. Nat West, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Coutts and Ulster Bank are subsidiaries of the RBS Group. Barclays owns the USA Citizens Financial Group and has become the 2nd largest shareholder of the Bank of China. The total assets of Barclays (2015) stand at £815.408 billion
Founded in 2009, Lloyds Banking Group was headquartered at No. 25, Gresham Street in London. It has established its registered office on The Mound in Edinburgh. Lloyds provide customers with retail banking, pensions, and insurance, wealth management, etc. It has branches in the USA, the Middle East, and Asia as well as in Europe. The total worth of assets of Lloyds (2015) was at £806.688 billion.
