National Provincial Bank National Provincial Bank National Provincial Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1833 until 1970 when it was merged into the National Westminster Bank. It continued to exist as a dormant non-trading company until 2016 when it was voluntarily struck off the register and dissolved. Considered one of the "Big Five," the National Provincial Bank expanded during the 19th and 20th centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies. It was based on Bishopsgate, at the thoroughfare's junction with Threadneedle Street, in London. The National Provincial Bank played a unique role in
Proprietary trading The evolution of proprietary trading at banks reached the point where many banks employed multiple traders devoted solely to proprietary trading, with the hopes of earning added profits above that of market-making. These proprietary trading desks were often considered internal hedge funds within the bank, performing in isolation away from client-flow traders. Proprietary desks routinely had the highest value at risk among other trading desks at the bank. At times, investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and the former Merrill Lynch earned a significant portion of their quarterly and annual profits (and losses) through proprietary trading efforts. Regulatory