'Penny banks' in Glasgow, 1850-1914

Ross, D. (2002) 'Penny banks' in Glasgow, 1850-1914. Financial History Review, 9(1), pp. 21-39. (doi: 10.1017/S0968565002000021)

Abstract

This paper explores the extent and nature of ‘Penny bank’ saving in Glasgow during the second half of the nineteenth century. Penny banks existed as part of the network of philanthropic organisations in the quintessential industrial city, and they were frequented by the poorer sections of the working class – those for whom saving represented a difficult and occasionally sacrificial effort. They were a voluntary and individualist decision to engage in saving, in contrast to the mutual organisations, such as friendly and industrial welfare societies which also proliferated in this period. The enormous success of penny banks in Glasgow, and throughout the United Kingdom, is powerful evidence that a great deal of saving was happening, even amongst the poorest sections of society. Careful examination of the activities of two penny banks suggests that they operated both as short-term liquidity stores and as vehicles for longer-term and larger-amount savings.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ross, Professor Duncan
• Authors: Ross, D.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions; H Social Sciences > HG Finance
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Economic and Social History
• Journal Name: Financial History Review
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 0968-5650
• Copyright Holders: © 2002 Cambridge University Press
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher