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Lloyds Banking Group plc

Retail and Commercial BankingFounded 1765
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Founders

Who Founded Lloyds Banking Group?

Sampson Lloyd, John Taylor · Founded 1765 · HQ today: London, United Kingdom

Who founded Lloyds Banking Group?

Lloyds Banking Group was founded by Sampson Lloyd, John Taylor in 1765. It is now led by Charlie Nunn.

Founders
Sampson Lloyd, John Taylor
Founded
1765
Headquarters
London, United Kingdom
Number of founders
2
Current CEO
Charlie Nunn (since 2021)
Where was Lloyds Banking Group founded?
Lloyds Banking Group was founded in London, United Kingdom in 1765.
When was Lloyds Banking Group founded?
Lloyds Banking Group was founded in 1765.
Who started Lloyds Banking Group?
Lloyds Banking Group was founded by Sampson Lloyd and John Taylor.
How old is Lloyds Banking Group?
Lloyds Banking Group is 261 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

In June 1765, Quaker ironmaster Sampson Lloyd II and button maker John Taylor opened Taylors & Lloyds in Dale End, Birmingham, to serve the city's growing industrial economy. The bank became Lloyds & Co., moved into London in 1884 and expanded through acquisitions of other banks. It merged with TSB in 1995 to form Lloyds TSB, and took over HBOS in 2009 to create Lloyds Banking Group.

Sampson Lloyd

Co-founder 1765

Background

An iron founder and prominent Quaker businessman in Birmingham.

Role at Lloyds Banking Group plc

Sampson Lloyd (1699-1779) co-founded Taylors & Lloyds in 1765. Seeking to provide a secure depository for the rapidly growing industrial businesses of Birmingham, he partnered with John Taylor to establish the private bank. This early venture laid the foundation for what would eventually become one of the 'Big Four' clearing banks in the United Kingdom. Sampson Lloyd was born in 1699.

John Taylor

Co-founder 1765

Background

A highly successful button maker and prominent artisan in Birmingham.

Role at Lloyds Banking Group plc

John Taylor (1711-1775) co-founded Taylors & Lloyds in 1765. He provided equal capital alongside Sampson Lloyd to launch the bank, recognizing the dire need for local credit and financial services during the early stages of the British Industrial Revolution. John Taylor was born in 1729.

Lloyds Banking Group plc: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Charlie Nunn

Chief Executive Officer

2021 – Present

Led Lloyds through higher interest rates and the motor finance review, with 2025 underlying net income of ~$24.2 billion (£18.3 billion) and ~$5.15 billion (£3.9 billion) of distributions.

António Horta-Osório

Former Chief Executive Officer

2011 – 2021

Returned Lloyds to profitability and full private ownership in May 2017; left in April 2021 to chair Credit Suisse.

Eric Daniels

Group Chief Executive

2003 – 2011

The HBOS takeover led to a government bailout that left the state with about 43 percent of the group. Antonio Horta-Osorio succeeded him in 2011.

Keep researching Lloyds Banking Group

Who Founded Lloyds Banking Group? FAQ

Who founded Lloyds Bank and under what historical circumstances in 1765?

Lloyds Bank was founded in March 1765 in Birmingham, England, by Quaker ironmaster Sampson Lloyd II (1699 to 1779) and button and toy manufacturer John Taylor (1704 to 1775) alongside their sons, opening a private bank named 'Taylors and Lloyds' with £8,000 in capital.

Who was Sampson Lloyd II and what was his industrial background?

Sampson Lloyd II was a prominent Quaker industrialist who owned iron slitting and rolling mills in Birmingham. Recognizing that the Industrial Revolution was driving large trade in metal goods and machinery, Lloyd established the bank to provide credit to local industrialists.

Who was John Taylor and what was his contribution to Birmingham enterprise?

John Taylor was a master craftsman and entrepreneur who built a fortune manufacturing enameled snuff boxes, gilt buttons, and japanned ironware, employing over 500 artisans and providing substantial commercial capital to co-found the bank.

What was the founding of the Bank of Scotland in 1695?

Established on July 17, 1695, by an Act of the Scottish Parliament spearheaded by English merchant John Holland, Bank of Scotland is Scotland's oldest bank and the first commercial bank in Europe to successfully print its own paper banknotes.

When and how was Halifax founded as a building society in 1853?

Halifax was founded in 1853 at the Old Cock Inn in Halifax, Yorkshire, as the Halifax Permanent Benefit Building and Investment Society by local civic leaders, created to allow working-class citizens to pool savings to build and own their own homes.

How did Lloyds Bank transition from a private Birmingham bank to a national joint-stock corporation?

In 1865, the private partnership was incorporated as 'Lloyds Banking Company Limited' with 143 initial shareholders, initiating an aggressive century-long strategy of acquiring over 50 regional English banks to build a nationwide branch network.

What was the founding of Scottish Widows in 1815 in Edinburgh?

Scottish Widows was founded in March 1815 in Edinburgh, Scotland, by a group of prominent Scottish civic leaders (including Lord Cockburn) as Scotland's first mutual life assurance society, created to provide permanent financial support for widows and children.

How did the Quaker heritage of the Lloyd family shape the bank's founding values?

The Quaker faith of the Lloyd family established founding principles of honesty, financial prudence, ethical bookkeeping, and community stewardship, refusing to finance speculative ventures and building a reputation for unshakeable reliability.

Who founded Lloyds Bank?

It was founded by Sampson Lloyd and John Taylor in 1765. The founders were deeply embedded in the Quaker and local industrial communities. Because the rapidly growing factories of the Industrial Revolution required massive cash flow to pay workers and buy iron, Lloyd and Taylor brilliantly transitioned from manufacturing goods to manufacturing credit, establishing one of the most powerful financial institutions on Earth.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.