Record

Code	DS/UK/248
Corporate Name	Bank of England Branch Banks Office
Dates	1826 - 1975
Activity	The Branch Banks Office (BBO), initially the Branch Banks Committee, was established on 12 January 1826 by the Court of Directors to consider and report 'how far it may be practicable to establish Branch Banks'. This decision was probably due to rumours of the Government's intention to establish a more satisfactory system of banking across the country following a series of banking failures in the early 1820s, resulting in an Act of Parliament allowing the establishment of joint stock banking companies sixty-five miles outside London. The Committee reported on 13 January 1826 that the establishment of Bank of England branches 'would increase the circulation of Bank Notes, give the Bank much more complete control over the whole paper circulation and protect the Bank against the competition of large banking companies'. On 9 February, the Court requested the Committee and the Committee of Treasury to prepare a plan for the establishment of branches and it was recommended that the Bank should focus on commercial and manufacturing towns, such as Leeds, Huddersfield or Wakefield, Birmingham, Gloucester, Liverpool and Manchester. The Bank's first branch was opened in Gloucester on 19 July 1826. The Office became responsible for handling relations between Head Office and the branches. It was disbanded in 1975.