Barclays Bank Canada

Barclays Bank (Canada)

Barclays Bank (Canada) Limited was incorporated in Montreal, Quebec in 1929, as a joint venture between Barclays Bank Limited and Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas). An office was later established in Toronto.[1]

Like the other Canadian chartered banks, it issued its own banknotes. The Bank of Canada was established through the Bank of Canada Act of 1934 and the banks relinquished their right to issue their own currency. In 1956, Barclays Bank (Canada) was acquired by Imperial Bank of Canada, a predecessor of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, for 10% of the capital of Imperial. H.A. Stevenson was president of the bank from at least 1935 until 1950; his signature appears on one of the last currency issues by Barclays Bank (Canada)[2] and he is quoted speaking at an annual general meeting of the bank in 1950.[3]

Barclays Bank of Canada

The holding company, Barclays Canada Limited, which had been set up in 1927 to meet the requirements of Canadian law to foreign ownership, remained. In 1974, it was reopened to deal in the wholesale banking market. In 1979, foreign banks were allowed to receive charters and London-based Barclays Bank established a new Canadian subsidiary, Barclays Bank of Canada. It was reorganised into commercial banking and corporate banking divisions in 1989, and bought by the Hongkong Bank of Canada (HBC) in 1996.[4] In 1999, HBC changed its name to HSBC Bank Canada, consistent with its parent's strategy of creating a global brand.[5]