Men and Money

Synopsis

Financial man is laid bare in this series from 1964 exploring how the City of London’s great institutions operated in the days before the markets went global. From the floor of the old Stock Exchange to the dealing room at Lloyds, we meet the men who followed their fathers into the world of high finance through the club and the old school tie. Released to accompany BBC2’s ‘City Season’ IN 2009, this collection provides a unique counterpoint to today’s 24-hour financial culture with a glimpse back to the way the City used to do business in the years before the Big Bang.

Each of the programmes is approximately 45 minutes long and topics covered include the Bank of England, the importance of confidence in the system, stockbrokers, analysts, insurers, and foreign investors.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of release

2009

Year of production

1964

Subjects

Economics

Keywords

archive television; banking; financial institutions; stock exchanges; City of London

Online availability

URI

http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/menandmoney/index.shtml

Price

free

Delivery

Streamed

Sections

Title

Machine in Action, The

Synopsis

In this introductory episode, Lord Cromer, Governor of the Bank of England, gives his first ever television interview. We learn about the role of the Bank, visit some of the vaults holding £300 million worth of gold, hear about the management of the national debt and spend time in the company of the top-hatted bill brokers who work in the short-term money market.

Duration

44 mins

Title

Question of Confidence, A

Synopsis

A fascinating glimpse into the world of clearing banks from an era when even transactions involving millions of pounds were carried out using cheques. This programme looks at how much high finance depends on good faith and confidence in the banking system, as actual transfers of funds between banks only happen on the basis of the total value of cheques accrued at the end of each working day. There is also an unintentionally hilarious sequence about methods of thwarting bank robbers.

Duration

42 mins

Title

Stockbrokers’ World, The

Synopsis

Top hats, bowler hats and furled umbrellas abound in this fascinating portrait of the pre-Big Bang world of the stockbroker and the (now extinct) stockjobber. Cameras go onto the trading floor of the old Stock Exchange and watch some very courteous face-to-face trading in action (this has now been replaced by electronic dealing). Interviews with key figures explain the workings of this mysterious and club-like world with its own slang, uniforms and history. The programme is a remarkable record of the institutions, jobs and traditions that were wiped out by the Big Bang in 1986.

Duration

47 mins

Title

Golden Eggheads, The

Synopsis

Beginning with an interview with a man seated on a stack of gold bars, this programme aims to meet the people who claim to understand the world of high finance. Interviews with a variety of dark-suited men, including economists, financial journalists and investment managers, attempt to reveal how they came by this knowledge and what it really amounts to. The programme also asks whether small-time investors are really welcome in this tightly-knit world, and discusses the City’s role in protecting these individuals from the potential pitfalls of investment.

Duration

47 mins

Title

Insurers, The

Synopsis

Lloyds of London was founded by coffee house owner Edward Lloyd in the 17th century. Recognising that his customers were merchants, bankers and underwriters who often specialised in marine insurance, he supplied his clientele with shipping information that would come to be known as the ‘Lloyd’s List’. The word ‘underwriter’ derives from the practice of writing one’s name under the total amount of money one was prepared to risk for a given premium.

Duration

48 mins

Title

Cosmopolitans, The

Synopsis

Brokers in the London sugar market bellow incomprehensibly at one another in a form of dealing known as ‘open outcry’, while the more exotic areas of the commodities market involve trades in any number of esoteric goods, from bleached Japanese seaweed to dried beaver testicles (an apparently indispensable ingredient of fine perfumes). The rigidly formal and exclusive world of the merchant banker is laid bare and the increasing popularity of London for foreign banks is also examined in this final part of the series.

Duration

40 mins

Production Company

Name

BBC Television

Distributor

Name

BBC Archive

Web

http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/ External site opens in new window