Charterhouse Bank

Charterhouse Bank

Former type	Public
Industry	Banking
Fate	Acquired
Successor	HSBC
Founded	1920
Defunct	2000
Headquarters	London, UK
Key people	Sir Victor Blank, (Chairman and CEO)

Charterhouse Bank was a British investment bank.

History

Charterhouse Bank was incorporated as an investment bank in December 1920.[1] In 1963 Charterhouse Bank merged with S. Japhet and Company, a rival investment bank established by Saemy Japhet (1858–1954), to form Charterhouse Japhet.[2]

A US-based arm, Charterhouse Group, was formed in 1973, but became independent of its parent in the 1980s.[3] In 1981 Charterhouse Japhet acquired Keyser Ullman, a substantial but failing rival.[4] In November 1983, Jacob Rothschild merged his own investment business, RIT & Northern, into Charterhouse Japhet and took a controlling stake in the combined business which was briefly known as Charterhouse J. Rothschild.[5] Rothschild then sold the banking business, still known as Charterhouse Japhet, to Royal Bank of Scotland in January 1985.[6] From 1985 to 1996 Sir Victor Blank held the posts of Chairman and Chief Executive of the banking business, which reverted to its original name, Charterhouse Bank.[7]

Royal Bank of Scotland sold 90% of Charterhouse Bank (retaining 10%) to two continental banks, Crédit Commercial de France and Berliner Handels- und Frankfurter Bank in February 1993.[8] Crédit Commercial de France acquired Berliner Handels- und Frankfurter Bank in the late 1990s,[9] so consolidating its investment in Charterhouse Bank, but was itself taken over by HSBC in 2000.[10]

In June 2001, the management of Charterhouse Capital Partners, the private equity unit of Charterhouse Bank, completed a management buyout from HSBC to become an independent private equity business.[11] Similarly, in May 2011, the management of HSBC Specialist Investments (later InfraRed Capital Partners) completed a management buyout from HSBC to become an independent infrastructure investment business.[12]

References

1. "Charterhouse Management Services Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
2. "Saemy Japhet, Banker and Philanthropist, Dies in London at 95". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 4 February 1954. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
3. "Charterhouse Group Announces Exit Of Investment In Oakleaf Global Holdings, Inc. in a $655 Million Transaction". PR Newswire. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
4. Grady, John; Weale, Martin (1986). "British Banking, 1960–85". Palgrave Macmillan. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-349-07537-9.
5. "Rothschild merger in Britain". New York Times. 4 November 1983. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
6. "European dreams: Charterhouse Bank". The Economist. 13 February 1993. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
7. "Profile: Sir Victor Blank". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2006-01-26. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
8. "Charterhouse sold to continental banks for pounds 235m". The Independent. 7 February 1993. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
9. "Big Bang 1986: A Revolution in UK Securities and Investment Banking". Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
10. "HSBC Holdings Agrees to Buy Credit Commercial de France". 3 April 2000. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
11. "Charterhouse sticks to its winning formula". Financial News. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
12. "HSBC completes spin-out of infra-funds firm". Financial News. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2017.