Bank of Otago

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The Bank of Otago was a colonial bank established in London in 1863 for the British colony of New Zealand .

history

The efforts in the then province of Otago to set up their own bank probably go back to 1851. Just three years after the arrival of the first Scottish settlers in Port Chalmers and their founding of Dunedin , a meeting was called with the aim of founding a bank, the Bank of Otago, as early as possible . But another 12 years would pass before the bank was founded.

In the years the advantages and necessity have been repeatedly highlighted its own bank for the province of Otago in public and as the Union Bank of Australia in August 1859 opened a branch in Dunedin, the pressure was particularly large and the fear of a monopoly of Bank accordingly.

The impulse to found the bank came from the gold rush in Otago of 1861 and from overseas. With gold production worth £ 1,540,708 in Otago in 1862, London investors took notice and founded the Bank of Otago with starting capital of £ 500,000 in shares of £ 100 each . On September 24, 1883, the papers were already trading on the London Stock Exchange . For Otago itself, however, only 1,000 shares were left for subscription. After three readings in the House of Representatives and the urging of William Cargill , co-founder of the City of Dunedin, the bank was finally authorized in New Zealand by the Bank of Otago (Limited) Act on December 12, 1863 and opened in January of the following year.

Limited too much to the province of Otago, the bank was unable to develop properly. Despite looming difficulties, the banker William Larnach took over the management of the bank in New Zealand in September 1867. However, after further difficulties over the years, the shareholders of the bank in London were no longer ready to support the bank and refused to raise capital . The Bank of Otago was finally sold to the National Bank of New Zealand in April 1873 and integrated into the National Bank in July .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Otago Witness, Issue 16, September 6, 1851, p. 1
  2. ^ Otago Witness, Issue 167, September 9, 1854, p. 1
  3. ^ Otago Witness, Issue 401, August 6, 1859, p. 2
  4. ^ The Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIX, Issue 1855, June 27, 1863, p. 3
  5. ^ Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1961, September 24, 1863
  6. ^ Otago Witness, Issue 619, October 10, 1863
  7. ^ The Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIX, Issue 2001, December 15, 1863
  8. ^ Evening Post, Volume III, Issue 195, September 28, 1867, p. 2
  9. ^ Evening Post, Volume IX, Issue 55, Wellington, April 17, 1873
  10. ^ Evening Post, Volume IX, Issue 105, Wellington, June 21, 1873