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SUMMARY:The London merchant banks and the road to the 1931 crisis - Dr Bri
 an O'Sullivan\, Kings College London
DTSTART:20170213T170000Z
DTEND:20170213T183000Z
UID:TALK67263@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Duncan Needham
DESCRIPTION:After a period of monetary and political turmoil\, the British
  crisis of 1931 culminated with the abandonment of the gold standard. Ster
 ling fell immediately by 25% against the US dollar. These events marked a 
 turning point for London as an international financial centre.\nThe London
  merchant banks had been an important part of the British monetary system.
  The Macmillan Report of 1930-31 described these firms as 'highly speciali
 sed' and of 'world-wide standing'\, but the 1931 financial crisis was a ma
 jor calamity for many of these long-established houses.\nDuring the 1920s 
 the merchant banks had faced increasing competition from other financial i
 nstitutions. Furthermore\, the rise of the US dollar acceptance posed a si
 gnificant threat to the sterling 'Bill on London'. In response to these de
 velopments\, did the merchant banks take unacceptable risks? Did they beli
 eve that they would be safeguarded from commercial failure as they had bee
 n in 1914?\n\nBrian is a Visiting Research Fellow at King's\, London. He i
 s a graduate of the University of London and completed his Ph.D. in 2015 a
 t Birkbeck\, London. He has spent most of his career in the City\, and is 
 currently Chief Operating Officer of Thomas Miller Investment. He is a Fel
 low of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
LOCATION:Darwin College (Seminar Room\, No. 1 Newnham Terrace - entrance v
 ia Porters Lodge on Silver St)
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