River Plate Trust, Loan & Agency Company Ltd Essay

River Plate Trust, Loan & Agency Company Ltd - Essay Example The operation of the companies in the region suffered a setback in the period when the financial crisis of 1930 was felt; however, some companies strived strove to become international firms. One of the companies formed by the Morrison Group in the River plate region was the River Plate Trust, Loan, and Agency (RPTLA), which was formed for in 1881 for three main reasons. The first reason for the formation of the firm was the acquisition of assets as a trust. This was accomplished by the acquisition of the assets of the Mercantile Bank of the River Plate, and the second reason was the provision of loan facilities to the people in the region. This was done through the lending of money in form of mortgages in Argentina and Uruguay, and among the last reasons was the performing of financial agency duties for individuals and firms in the River Plate Region. Another reason for the formation of the firm was the motivation to invest in the mortgage business in the River Plate Region, and the expected high economic growth of the region. The previous occupations of the major stakeholders in the firm were also a big factor in the formation of the RPTLA. ... RPTLA was founded by seven members, John Gorst, Sidney Herbert, Frederick Fearon, Cornelius Cox, Edward Ashworth, Edward Griggs and John Taylor, who went on to become the first board members of the new company. These seven individuals were mostly stakeholders in the Mercantile Bank, either as shareholders, board members, or liquidators, and the rest of the board members were related to the bank in some way. For example, one of the shareholders, Leon Isaac, was part of the family that owned most of the Mercantile Bank. Some other members were politicians, while others were directors of other financial institutions. One example of a director is Griggs, who was a major director in the now defunct Trust and Loan Company of Canada, while some other members were business people and merchants. The similarity of these individuals was drawn around financial institutions, since they were either members of the fallen Mercantile Bank, or former members of other financial institutions in the regi on. The social system in place at the time indicated that the first directors of the RPTLA were in social class 1 and 2, which was reserved for professionals, gentry, and major businesspeople. A year after the formation of the RPTLA, a former senior partner at Ashurst, Morris and Company, John Morris, was appointed as the new Chairman and Managing director of the RPTLA (Slinn, 1997). Under the administration of Morris, the organizational structure of the company was reformed, and the principles that he placed in place guided the company through its entire lifetime. As previously stated, the members of the board of RPTLA were in some way related to the Mercantile Bank, and Morris was no exception, since he was in charge of the law firm that liquidated the bank. This indicates that the