Brief History

In 1832, Marcus Samuel founded a company near the Tower of London to import goods from the Far East. M. Samuel & Co. was successful in the importing business, so by the middle of the 19th century it expanded to the re-exporting business, importing goods worldwide and re-exporting them to Europe and North America.

By the 20th century, Hill Samuel & Co. Limited was created in 1965 by the merger of M. Samuel & Co. and Philip Hill, Higginson, Erlanger’s Limited. On the 10 December 1969, Hill Samuel Australia Limited opened its doors in Sydney with a staff of three executives.

Offering a range of financial services and products with the expertise and fame of its parent company, Hill Samuel Australia began to win significant mandates. Following a proposal to the Australian Federal Government in 1985, Macquarie Bank Limited was established in February of that year as part of the restructure of Hill Samuel Australia as an independent trading bank. These small steps have lead Macquarie Bank to be the one of the most successful diversified provider of financial products originating in Australia.

Before the merger with TSB Group Plc., Hill Samuel’s 1987 Pre-tax profits were primarily of consisted of merchant banking (50%); as well as investment management services (27%); employee benefit services (13%); and insurance (6%).

By 1995, the merger of TSB Group Plc. and Lloyds Bank merged, led Hill Samuel to become a subsidiary of Lloyds TSB.