Since we were established 250 years ago by Sampson Lloyd II and John Taylor, much has changed. Yet our principles remain the same as they’ve always been – to help individuals and households reach their full potential, to support businesses in their goals, and to be a bank with a deep sense of community at its core. Through the hard times and times of celebration, generations of customers have turned to us to help them achieve their ambitions. This has been, and always will be, our greatest responsibility.

Throughout our long history, customers have always expected the highest possible service. So even when the country has been through challenging circumstances, our customers have still been able to do their banking. During both World Wars, Lloyds Bank stayed open in the most difficult conditions.

Thirty-two branches were completely destroyed in WW2 air raids, and hundreds more were damaged. With the threat of bombing came the possibility of major economic disruption. The loss of bank records would have left people without access to their own money, prevented payments for goods and wages, and halted production. It’s why Lloyds Bank introduced a duplicating system that ensured copies of every balance and every transaction had to be safely stored on a daily basis.

In a pre-computer age, when bank records were either hand written or hand-typed, this meant copying everything out twice – once for the branch and once to be sent to a designated partner branch far away from the bombing threat. When the bombs did hit, it proved possible to reconstruct every customer’s account within two working days.

Convenience is something we’ve all come to expect. Today, we take cash machines across the UK for granted. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, if you wanted ten pounds 250 years ago, you could ask for a handwritten banknote personally signed by Sampson Lloyd II. So to help our customers get hold of their money 24/7, we introduced the world’s first Cashpoint® at our Brentwood branch on 11 December 1972.

Even though there had been cash machines in the past, this was a brand new invention. Previous dispensers had required the purchase of vouchers beforehand.

The Lloyds Bank Cashpoint® was the first on-line machine, where the amount withdrawn would be debited from the account immediately – similar to today’s ATMs. Initially, machines were inside the branch, but were later installed outside.

While there have been milestones in the financial world, Lloyds Bank has helped support some of the most inspirational events in recent history. The London 2012 Olympics was one such event. Our ambition for the 2012 Games was to help spread the Olympic spirit right across the UK – to bring the inspiration of the Olympic flame to customers, colleagues, communities, branches and schools.

We were the only UK company to sponsor the Olympic Torch Relay. During its 70 day journey, the Torch travelled within a 10 mile journey of 95% of the UK population. Branches opened all hours to welcome the tens of millions of customers and members of the public the length and breadth of Britain. From Land’s End to the Olympic Park, 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers were rewarded with the once in a lifetime opportunity to carry the Olympic Flame. And 15 million people lined the streets to witness this unique and very special event.

Beyond the £100 million credit facility provided to the London Olympic Games Organising Committee, Lloyds Bank was able to support over a third of Games contractors. From the moment Danny Boyle unveiled his extraordinary opening spectacle, the Games generated an unprecedented outpouring of community spirit.