Overview

This is the arresting 150-year story of one of the oldest and most illustrious merchant banks and of the men who made it. Founded in 1838 by an American, George Peabody, Morgan Grenfell quickly became the most important American banking house in London, and by the turn of the century held an unrivalled position as part of the most powerful investment bank in the world. The book chronicles its role in financing the overseas purchases of Britain and her allies during the First World War, in taking the lead amongst the private London bankers in reconstructing Europe during the 1920s, and in pioneering the new field of corporate finance. In the 1980s Morgan Grenfell took off with a substantial rise in profits and an extraordinarily powerful Corporate Finance Department: an epilogue summarises recent events to the end of 1988 when it decided to exit from securities in London and to concentrate on developing its areas of traditional strength. Based on a wide range of original sources, this book is unmatched as a banking history: no other book combines the unrestricted access to the bank's archives afforded to the author with a narrative of events up to the 1980s.

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9780198283065

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Reviews

'clear and lively account' David Lascelles, Financial Times 'She has the gift of expounding complicated issues with great lucidity, and places the evolution of today's Morgan Grenfell firmly where it belongs. Dr Burk's judicious and well-written history tells one all one could want to know of Morgan Grenfell before the 1960s.' Philip Ziegler, Sunday Telegraph 'scholarly history ... it is well worth dipping into, and will prove interesting reading for senior management of Deutsche Bank' Banking World 'Kathleen Burk does her subject full, lively justice' The Director 'the best monograph of an English merchant bank published so far ... we are now well documented on one of the most important international groups in banking history' Youssef Cassis, University of Geneva, 20 Century British History Vol 1 No 2 '90 'entertaining and informative ... The book offers a wealth of well-researched and well-organized detail on a variety of financial events in the City from the financing of foreign governments in the nineteenth century to the restructuring of the British steel industry and the takeover battles of the later twentieth century ... this scholarly work is a welcome addition to the financial history of the City of London.' Catherine R. Schenk, Victoria University of Wellington, London Journal, XV, 2 (1990) 'This boook is a fine addition to the growing literature ... illuminating and well-written book.' Peter Cain, Economic Journal, June 1990 'well-written biography' Michael Collins, University of Leeds, Economic History Review, Volume XLIII, No 4 November 1990 'a scholarly work ... The particular distinction of this history is that it brings the story very nearly up-to-date.' S.D. Chapman, University of Nottingham, Business History, Jan '91 'This is a valuable and unusually well-documented addition to the growing literature on the history of merchant banking."" Tobias Abse, History, '92 'excellent study ... a frank investigation - informative about the enterprise and its personnel ... this is an important story well told, offering a lucid introduction to a complicated yet historically vital area of business endeavour' Barry Supple, St Catharine's College, Cambridge, EHR, July 1993

Superbly demonstrates the influence that lending institutions had on the history of Europe and the United States. --Library Journal<br>

Superbly demonstrates the influence that lending institutions had on the history of Europe and the United States. --Library Journal

Author Information

Kathleen Burk is Lecturer in Modern History and Politics at Imperial College, London

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