PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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BANKING COPARTNERSHIP ACT 1826 A direct result of the banking crisis of 1825 was the Banking Copartnership Act of 1826, which authorised the setting-up of joint stock companies. Unlike normal partnerships, in these companies the shareholders were free to sell their shares to other people without the consent of the remaining shareholders. Also, a shareholder holding, say, a 20% share in the company would receive 20% of the company’s profits but he would also be responsible for personally covering 20% of any debt should the company fail. New banks came on the scene in Plymouth. The Plymouth and Devonport Banking Company was founded in 1832, taking over Messrs Symons, Saltau & Company, but was reconstituted in 1836 as the Devon and Cornwall Banking Company, when it took over Messrs Hingston & Company’s General Bank. The success of the Union Savings Bank at Devonport encouraged the Mayor of Plymouth and 59 other worthies to petition that Bank to open in Plymouth. The Union thought that Plymouth should have its own savings bank and declined. Instead, following a public meeting in the Guildhall in March 1837, it co-operated fully in setting up the Plymouth & South Devon Savings Bank in their first premises at the corner of Cornwall and Frankfort Streets.
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