History of the British national debt both government borrowing and the national debt have risen dramatically, reaching around 70% of GDP by the end of 2012. The origins of the British national debt can be found during the reign of William III, who engaged a syndicate of City traders and merchants to offer for sale an issue of government debt. This syndicate soon evolved into the Bank of England, eventually financing the wars of the Duke of Marlborough and later Imperial conquests. The establishment of the bank was devised by Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, in 1694, to the plan which had been proposed by
Bank of British Columbia financial institutions in Canada. Revenue in 1986 was $324 million. Following financial difficulties arising from poor management, most notably by Edgar Kaiser, Jr, in 1986 the Canadian government permitted the Hongkong Bank of Canada (HSBC) to rescue it. By stepping in, HSBC acquired a large base of stable retail deposits. The acquisition immediately raised HSBC's rank amongst Canadian banks from the 20th to the 9th largest. Citations References Bank of British Columbia There have been two British Columbian/Canadian banks with the name Bank of British Columbia. The first was established by Royal Charter in 1862, with its head office in