The National Bank of Scotland was founded as a joint stock bank in 1825. Based in Edinburgh, it had established a network of 137 branches at the end of its first hundred years. In 1918 the bank was bought by Lloyds Bank, although it continued to operate as an independent institution until 1959, when it merged with the Commercial Bank of Scotland to become the National Commercial Bank of Scotland. Ten years later the National Commercial Bank merged with the Royal Bank of Scotland.
In December 1824, the National Bank of Scotland announced that funds had been raised for the formation of a new bank in Edinburgh. Almost immediately it was followed by advertisements from the Scottish Union Banking Company and the Scottish Union Commercial Banking Company stating that they were to follow suit. Negotiations followed whereby the promoters of the latter two banks agreed to join in with the promoters of the National Bank. In March 1825 the National Bank was formally constituted with a nominal capital of £5 million under the chairmanship of the Lord Provost, Alexander Henderson of Press. The bank finally opened for business in the October and immediately began to issue its own notes. It obtained a royal charter in 1831. [1]
The "National" in the Bank's title was no accident. "From its inception the policy of the bank was directed towards the establishment of a branch system throughout Scotland." By the end of its first full year there were 13 branches; 40 by 1850 and 112 by the end of the century. It was also the first Scottish bank to open an office in London (1864). [1] From 1885 to 1914 it was second only in size to the Bank of Scotland. [2]
Although most of the increase in branches came from new openings, there were some small acquisitions including the Commercial Banking Company of Aberdeen in 1833; and the Perth Union Bank in 1836. [1] It was the National's failure to buy the Glasgow & Ship Bank in 1843 that prompted the opening of the first branch in Glasgow. [2] A Bank of Glasgow company was also formed in 1843 and was acquired by the National in 1844 [3] but the evidence from Checkland was that no physical presence had been established and it was no more than a paper transaction prior to a pooling of resources. [2]
The banking industry was (and still appears to be) continually afflicted by crises but there is no indication in the histories of anything other than stable financial progress. A table published in 1898 saw annual published net profits between 1864 and 1896 remaining within the range of £100-200,000; the opening year was £125,000 and the closing year £198,000. [4]
In the early twentieth century the English banks were beginning to look north of the border and in 1918 Lloyds Bank acquired the National Bank. Lloyds allowed the National to continue operating independently until 1959. At that point the Commercial Bank of Scotland approached Lloyds with a view to a merger. Lloyds agreed to dispose of its 100% holding in the National Bank and the two Scottish banks merged to become the National Commercial Bank of Scotland; Lloyds was left with a 37% stake in the enlarged bank. [2]
The National Bank became the first commercial bank in the world to offer a mobile banking service, which was established on the Isle of Lewis in 1946. [5] In 1947 a new headquarters building was opened in St. Andrew Square, designed in an American-inspired style. [6]
The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by the Parliament of Scotland in 1695 to develop Scotland's trade with other countries, and aimed to create a stable banking system in the Kingdom of Scotland.
NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and corporate finance. In the United Kingdom, its main subsidiary companies are National Westminster Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest Markets and Coutts. The group issues banknotes in Scotland and Northern Ireland; as of 2014, the Royal Bank of Scotland was the only bank in the UK to still print £1 notes.
Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an extensive network of branches and ATMs in England and Wales and offers 24-hour telephone and online banking services. As of 2012 it had 16 million personal customers and small business accounts.
National Provincial Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1833 until 1970 when it was merged into the National Westminster Bank. It continued to exist as a dormant non-trading company until 2016 when it was voluntarily struck off the register and dissolved.
Clydesdale Bank plc is a retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom. It was formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1838, and is the only former Scottish bank which retains its UK headquarters in Scotland, following the implosions in 2008 of the Bank of Scotland and of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Adam and Company is a trading division of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc catering for the needs of private bank customers based in the United Kingdom. It offers a range of private banking services including discretionary investment management and financial planning services to high net worth clients in the UK.
The British Linen Bank was a commercial bank based in the United Kingdom. It was acquired by the Bank of Scotland in 1969 and served as the establishment's merchant bank arm from 1977 until 1999.
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Scotland has around 700 branches, mainly in Scotland, though there are branches in many larger towns and cities throughout England and Wales. The bank is completely separate from the fellow Edinburgh-based bank, the Bank of Scotland, which pre-dates the Royal Bank by 32 years. The Royal Bank of Scotland was established in 1724 to provide a bank with strong Hanoverian and Whig ties.
The historic overseas bank was established in London in 1828 as Leslie & Grindlay, agents and bankers to the British army and business community in India. Banking operations expanded to include the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and elements of Africa and Southeast Asia. It was styled Grindlay, Christian & Matthews in 1839, Grindlay & Co from 1843, Grindlay & Co Ltd from 1924 and Grindlays Bank Ltd in 1947 until its merger with the National Bank of India.
Williams & Glyn's Bank Limited was established in London in 1970, when the Royal Bank of Scotland merged its two subsidiaries in England and Wales, Williams Deacon's Bank Ltd. and Glyn, Mills & Co. In 1985, Williams & Glyn's was fully absorbed into the Royal Bank of Scotland and ceased to trade separately. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group was renamed NatWest Group in 2020.
National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it became part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which was re-named NatWest Group in 2020. Following ringfencing of the group's core domestic business, the bank became a direct subsidiary of NatWest Holdings; NatWest Markets comprises the non-ringfenced investment banking arm. The British government currently owns around 48.1%, previously 54.7% of NatWest Group after spending £45 billion bailing out the lender in 2008.
The Commercial Bank of Scotland Ltd. was a Scottish commercial bank. It was founded in Edinburgh in 1810, and obtained a royal charter in 1831. It grew substantially through the 19th and early 20th centuries, until 1958, when it merged with the National Bank of Scotland to become the National Commercial Bank of Scotland. Ten years later the National Commercial Bank merged with the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The National Commercial Bank of Scotland Ltd. was a Scottish commercial bank. It was established in 1959 through a merger of the National Bank of Scotland with the Commercial Bank of Scotland. Ten years later it merged with the Royal Bank of Scotland, to become the largest clearing bank in Scotland. The National Commercial Bank issued its own banknotes.
Sydney George Checkland FRSE was a British-Canadian economic historian.
The Leith Banking Company was a bank based in the town of Leith, Scotland, which opened in 1793 and was forced to merge due to debt in 1842. The bank was established by 18 partners, mainly merchants, on 1 January 1793. Partners James Ker and Henry Johnston were joint managers. Sir Walter Scott is believed to have been an account holder.
Williams & Glyn was a division of The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and National Westminster Bank (NatWest) consisting of 307 RBS branches in England and Wales and NatWest branches in Scotland. The division was formed because the then RBS Group, owner of the two banks, was required by the European Union (EU) to divest a portion of its business after HM Government took an 84% stake in the group during the 2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package, which the EU classed as state aid. RBS Group was required to divest Williams & Glyn by the end of 2017.
James Simpson Fleming FRSE (1828-1899) was a Scottish lawyer and banker. From 1858 to 1871 he was a partner in the legal firm of McGrigor, Stevenson & Fleming. In the 1870s he was responsible for introducing the Royal Bank of Scotland to London.
The Royal Bank of Scotland £1 note is a sterling banknote. The current cotton note, first issued in 1987, bears an image of Lord Ilay, one of the founders of the bank, on the obverse, and a vignette of Edinburgh Castle on the reverse.
Holt's Military Banking is a trading name of The Royal Bank of Scotland, a subsidiary of NatWest Group, offering dedicated banking facilities to service personnel in the United Kingdom and on operational tours of duty overseas. It can trace its origins to a Mr. Vesey, army agent to the 23rd Regiment of (Light) Dragoons, in Dublin in 1802.
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