Barclays Capital

In the late 17th century the streets of the City of London were filled with goldsmith-bankers. They provided monarchs and merchants with the money they needed to fund their world-huge ventures. Private banking businesses were commonplace in the eighteenth century. Customers gold deposits were kept secure and credit-worthy merchants received loans. In 1896, 20 such businesses collaborated and established a joint-stock bank. The new bank had 182 branches, mainly in the E and S-E of England