Revisiting the Bank of England’s industrial intervention to Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Co.

Abstract

This paper revisits the Bank of England’s industrial intervention in the interwar years, focusing on the Bank’s intervention in the Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Co., whose case could be regarded as a ‘natural experiment’ on the Bank’s engagement with the comprehensive reorganisation of an industry. It examines the intervention from the perspective of continuity between the industrial intervention and the Bank’s branch bank business. Moreover, this study explores the influence of contemporary debates on ‘rationalisation’ on the Bank’s industrial intervention. This study reveals that the Bank’s reorganisation schemes were based on the competitiveness and profitability of each business unit of the Armstrongs. Furthermore, its reconstruction strategies were heavily influenced by contemporary discussion on rationalisation which sought to regulate competition by eliminating redundant capacity. Finally, there was a continuity between the Bank’s commercial businesses conducted in its branches and the Bank’s industrial intervention.