London dollar certificates of deposit were first issued in 1966, by the London branch of a United States bank. Simultaneously a London investment bank started to make a secondary market. Other international banks soon followed in issuing these certificates. Over a hundred London banks have now issued them, and there are about $9,500 million (£3,900 million) outstanding. Their issue, in fact, preceded the issue of sterling certificates of deposit, which did not appear until October 1968. Articles reviewing the development of the sterling certificate market appeared in the December 1972 and September 1973 issues of the Bulletin. This article describes the background to the issue of dollar certificates in London and the development of primary and secondary markets in this paper. It then considers certain aspects of the growth of these markets.
The London dollar certificate of deposit