P.S.
CITY Merchant Banks? Who are they: Rothschilds, Barings, Hambros? No, City Merchant Banks is the vainglorious new name chosen for itself by the small banking house of P. S. Refson. The strict City rule is that the merchant banks are the mem- bers of the Accepting Houses Committee — the first division. Refson is not an accepting house, nor a member of the Issuing Houses Association — the second division. Barclays first bent the rule, wishing to call its subsidiary 'Barclays Merchant Bank' and getting the name past the Bank of England when Governor O'Brien was on leave. He was less than pleased. Since then Standard Chartered and Lloyds have followed, but City Mer- chant Banks . . . In Regency times, a Mr Bugge announced that he was changing his name to Norfolk-Howard. This set the wags complaining that their hotel beds were infested with norfolk-howards. In the same way, Evelyn de Rothchild and Rupert Hambro must abandon the style of merchant bankers, and start to call them- selves refsons.
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