Banco Galliano


Banco Galliano was the oldest bank in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.

History

In 1855 Antonio Luis Galliano and his family, immigrants from Genoa via Cádiz, established A.L. Galliano Bankers in Gibraltar, better known as Banco Galliano in Spanish, or Galliano's Bank in English. This family-owned bank was Gibraltar's oldest bank, though it did not incorporate until August 1978. In 1987 Jyske Bank acquired Banco Galliano renaming it Jyske Bank Limited.
From the latter half of the 19th century, Galliano's bank started to face competition. The Anglo-Egyptian Bank opened a branch in 1888, and Credit Foncier entered in 1920. There were also, by the start of the 20th century, four other small, family-owned banks - Cuby Brothers, Benzecry, Rugeroni Brothers, and Marrache and Sons - but by 1940 these had ceased operating.
A.L. Galliano Bankers survived the Great Depression, the Spanish Civil War, and both world wars, albeit with difficulty. Gibraltarian Francis Galliano OBE, the last Galliano to own and run the bank, entered the bank in 1944 at the age of 17. He became a partner in 1953 and the senior partner in 1964. His son, Frank Galliano was General Manager until the takeover.

Trivia

In 1822, Spanish the guitar-maker Joséf Pagés made a Spanish guitar that came to belong to members of the Galliano family. Paco Galliano sold it in 2008 for £6,600.

Citations and references

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