Ladenburg Thalmann provided banking services for the Allies' covert warfare activities throughout World War II. SOE in London was tasked by HM Treasury in July 1942 as the lead British agency for the acquisition of foreign currency, required in small denominations by members of the plethora of British covert wartime agencies, as well as the escape packs of Allied aircrew. SOE turned to British Security Coordination (BSC) for help with this task; the very close links between BSC and the OSS meant that there was continual collaboration between the two agencies in support of this task. Some of the currencies acquired were seized from ships being searched in the Contraband Control Bases, such as Bermuda, Gibraltar, and Aden, or legitimately bought from legitimate passengers on those ships. Another source was the black markets in Tangiers, Beirut, Istanbul, and elsewhere, from the sale of commodities such as gold, platinum, diamonds, precious stones, and Swiss watches. Most of these items, in short supply because of the Allied blockade and restrictions on movement, could be purchasing using sterling by British government supply departments within the British Empire.