Introduction

The British Trade Corporation was constituted under a Royal Charter on 21 April 1917. Its charter was meant to last for sixty years, but in 1926, after a turbulent existence of only nine years, it was merged with the Anglo-Austrian Bank to form the Anglo-International Bank, and it effectively ceased to operate. Despite being one of the most important British financial institutions after the First World War, the corporation has been largely ignored by financial historians. This book aims to rectify this shameful neglect. It aims to show that its difficulties reflected many of those faced by Britain in general after the war.