Barclays history

First, the Bank Charter Act of 1826 allowed banks with more than six partners to be formed only outside London.

Barclays’ earliest origins in Wales go back to 1827 and a bank established in Haverfordwest by John and William Walters.

He also campaigned against slavery, and in 1837 went on a three year ministering tour of the West Indies and America, giving away one third of his share of the Bank's profits for the duration.

By 1838, the Gurneys were described as 'exercising an influence and a power inferior to that of no banking establishment in Great Britain - that of the Bank of England alone excepted'.

Stockholders of new joint-stock companies were granted limited liability for the first time in 1854.

They went on to open branches in Narbeth, Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock, before being taken over by the London and Provincial Bank in 1872.

Finally, in 1879, existing joint-stock associations were allowed to convert to a limited-liability structure.

In July 1896 Barclays and nineteen other banks joined together to form Barclay and Company Limited.

The Consolidated Bank of Cornwall amalgamated with Barclays and Co in 1905.

Barclays inherited several long-established branches in Northamptonshire from smaller banks that came into the Barclays group, mostly from the successful Stamford, Spalding & Boston Banking Company (‘SS&B’) which merged with Barclays in 1911

Barclays' first international venture took place in 1914 when it established its French subsidiary, Cox & Company.

In 1916, Barclays acquired the United Counties Bank, thereby securing a substantial presence in the Midlands.

The bank's merger with the London, Provincial and South Western Bank in 1918 made it one of the Big Five British banks.

By 1920 the Treasury had barred further mergers between banks but this did not stop Barclays from expanding and it began to take its business to other parts of the world.

The 1921 census which gives details of almost 38 million individuals is now available on Findmypast.

1937: Barclays' first coat of arms

Fisher saw Barclays through the boom years of World War II. When Fisher died in 1947, he was replaced by William Macnamara Goodenough.

In 1951, Anthony William Tuke, the son of William Favill Tuke, became chairman following William Goodenough's retirement that year.

Barclays Enters United States Market in 1965

Barclays launched the first credit card in the UK, Barclaycard, in 1966.

On 27 June 1967, Barclays deployed the world’s first cash machine, in Enfield, north London.

In 1968, the bank acquired Martins Bank, a regional smaller business and in the years that followed other businesses were added as Barclays Bank continued to grow.

In 1969, a planned merger with Martins Bank and Lloyds Bank was blocked by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, but the acquisition of Martins Bank on its own was later permitted.

Barclays opened a state-of-the-art computer centre in Wythenshawe, Manchester in 1971.

In 1973, A.W. Tuke was succeeded as chairman by Anthony Favill Tuke, William F. Tuke's grandson.

In May 1974, Barclays Bank International acquired the First Westchester National Bank of New Rochelle, New York.

In August 1975, following the secondary banking crash, Barclays acquired Mercantile Credit Company.

By 1977 Barclays had introduced the first company cards which had previously only been produced for individuals.

Another advantage Barclays enjoyed was an exemption from 1978 legislation barring foreign banks from operating branches in more than one state.

In the early 1980s, Barclays Bank International diversified into commercial credit, acquiring the American Credit Corporation, renamed Barclays American Corporation (BAC) in May 1980.

A.F. Tuke served until 1981, when he left Barclays to operate a British mining company.

Barclays became the first bank to re-open branches on Saturday mornings in 1982, twenty years after the practice ended.

1984: The company changes its name to Barclays plc.

The bank traces its origins to 1985 when Barclays decided to cash in on the surging demand for UK financial services.

In 1986 Barclays sold its South African business operating under the Barclays National Bank name after protests against Barclays’ involvement in South Africa and its apartheid government.

Barclays introduced the Connect card in June 1987, the first debit card in the United Kingdom.

Nevertheless, after years of trying to make it profitable, Barclays sold its California banking subsidiary in 1988 to Wells Fargo.

In 1990, Barclays acquired Merck, Finck & Co., a German investment bank, and L'Europeenne de Banque, based in Paris.

Barclays, in fact, posted a pretax loss of £244 million in 1992.

Subsequently, in the fall of 1993 Barclays made the rare move--for Barclays--of tapping an outsider when it appointed Martin Taylor as CEO, with Buxton remaining chairman.

Edgar Pearce, the “Mardi Gra Bomber”, began a terror campaign against the bank and the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s in 1994.

In 1995, the bank bolstered its presence in the Asia-Pacific region by purchasing Wells Fargo Nikko Investment Advisers, which was integrated into the Asset Management Group.

Enter Bob Diamond In 1996, Anglo American Banker Bob Diamond became head of the investment banking division.

Merger activity in 1997 however, placed this unit in a precarious position.

In 1998 the equity and corporate finance divisions were sold to Credit Suisse First Boston with the remaining business focusing on fixed income and structured markets.

Matthew W. Barrett was named CEO in 1999 while Middleton remained chairman.

The year 2000 saw the acquisition of Woolwich plc (formerly the Woolwich Building Society).

In 2001 Barclays closed 171 branches in the UK, many of them in rural communities: Barclays called itself “THE BIG BANK” but this name was quickly given a low profile after a series of embarrassing PR stunts.

Pre-tax profits rose by 20 percent in 2003, a sign that Barclays' actions were paying off.

Barclays took over sponsorship of the Premier League from Barclaycard in 2004.

In 2005 the bank's head office moved from Lombard Street to Canary Wharf.

Then in 2006, Barclays purchased the HomEq Servicing Corporation for US$469 million in cash from Wachovia Corp.

In January 2007, Barclays announced that it had purchased the naming rights to the Barclays Center, a proposed 18,000-seat arena in Brooklyn, New York, where the New Jersey Nets planned to relocate.

Eventually, Barclays acquired Lehman Brothers which failed when the financial crisis took hold in 2008.

In mid-March 2012, the trading name of Barclays Capital was changed to simply Barclays and the name of the division was changed to Barclays Investment Bank.

In April 2013, Barclays announced a new initiative called Digital Eagles.

In 2014, Barclays had 18% of the share of current accounts in the UK, second only to Lloyds Banking Group.

A Barclays sign outside one of the bank's branches in London, Britain, February 23, 2017.