Bank of London and South America Archives

Letter books and accounting records of the Bank of London and South America and its constituent banks, c1862-1956. Letters relate especially to Uruguay from 1864, Argentina from 1865, Brazil from 1868 and Chile from 1888.

The Bank of London and South America was formed in October 1923 as an amalgamation of the London and Brazilian Bank and the London and River Plate Bank. They were brought together by Lloyds Bank. The amalgamation occurred to prevent the two banks competing and pushing one of them out of business, as most of their branches were in the same cities and they were carrying out the same kind of business. Lloyds retained overall control, though it was joined by other shareholders. In 1936 the Bank took over the Anglo-South American Bank, which had itself absorbed the British Bank of South America and the Commercial Bank of Spanish America. It is now a subsidiary of Lloyds Bank International.

The archives comprise the sub-fonds: Anglo-South American Bank Records (Ref: BOLSA A); Bank of London and South America Records (Ref: BOLSA B); Bank of Tarapaca and Argentina Records (Ref: BOLSA C); London and River Plate Bank Records (Ref: BOLSA D); British Bank of South America Records (Ref: BOLSA E); Commercial Bank of Spanish America Records (Ref: BOLSA F); London and Brazilian Bank Records (Ref: BOLSA G); Bank of London and South America: miscellaneous papers (Ref: BOLSA H); Nicaraguan Bank Records (Ref: BOLSA J).

Open

The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.

Deposited on indefinite loan in 1969 by the Bank of London and South America, and in 1982 by Lloyds Bank International. Additional papers found in 1973 by Dr Blakemore among the papers of David Joslin.

A full, detailed catalogue is available online

No photocopying or publication from the archive without permission from Lloyds.