Perth Savings Bank

Last updated

The Perth Savings Bank was established in Perth, Scotland, in 1815. In 1975, it merged to form part of the Trustee Savings Bank of Tayside and Central Scotland.

History

The Perth Savings Bank began in a small way on 17 April 1815, when the Chief Magistrate called "a score of citizens" to a meeting to consider the establishment of a savings bank. The objective was to be "the promotion of economy, sobriety, and industry in the working classes of the community". The meeting approved the proposal and appointed "a committee of local gentlemen" to report on the correct regulations. Three days later, the report was completed. The Bank was to be open for one hour on Monday mornings "to receive such small sums as might be saved from the savings of tradesmen, mechanics, labourers and servants..." The funds were to be invested in the Perth Banking Company which also provided a room for the Savings Bank to operate. Perth Savings Bank opened on the 11 May, less than a month after the inaugural meeting. [1]

The first secretary was a local church minister and prominent theologian, the Revd. James Esdaile. He ran the bank on a voluntary basis until his retirement in 1839, but the official history was not kind to his tenure, recording that the bank "was conducted for 24 years on the primitive lines originally laid down, but the restrictions imposed ... by the rules, together with the inadequate facilities provided for public business, retarded the natural development and expansion of the bank.” There were no paid officers and directors shared the duties. [1]

The end of the Revd. Esdaile's period as Secretary saw significant changes. A leading spirit was Melville Jameson, Procurator Fiscal of the County of Perth, one of the founders of the Bank and the new Secretary. The bank had never registered under any act of parliament and a proposal was made in 1838 for Bank to be registered under the Scotland 1835 Act and a new constitution was adopted in 1839, named the Savings Bank of the County and City of Perth. [2] The history noted the difference from the Edinburgh and Glasgow savings banks, which used the 1835 Act to form new banks; the Perth Savings Bank was continuous from 1815. [1]

The bank's former Tay Street location, pictured in 2024 26 Tay Street 2024.jpg
The bank's former Tay Street location, pictured in 2024

The new management determined to expand into the County of Perth. In 1839, branches were opened at Coupar Angus and Blairgowrie, supplemented by receiving agencies in Stanley and Methil, and a third branch was opened in Crieff in 1840. Two more branches followed in the mid-1840s and additional receiving agencies in neighbouring villages. By 1847 the trustees reported that "almost the whole of the towns of any importance in the county are now accommodated with branch offices and other localities participate in the advantage of this institution by the system of receiving agencies." [3] The bank also moved into independent accommodation in Atholl Crescent. Another change in 1839 was that the Savings Bank's funds were moved from the Perth Banking Company to be wholly invested with the government. In 1847, the bank established a special investment company to get a better rate for depositors and an increase in the amount that could be invested. The impact on the bank's size from these changes was substantial. In 1839, there were 859 accounts and deposits of £3,000; by 1850, however, there were 7,133 accounts with deposits of £102,000. Deposits doubled by 1860, and five more branches were opened between then and Pitlochry in 1911. The expansion in the customer base meant a further move in premises to Charlotte Street and then to a permanent building at 26 Tay Street in 1876. By 1914, there were over 33,000 accounts and deposits of £1.6m. [1]

Little is published on the bank after the publication of the official history. The bank retained its independence until 1975 when, following the Page Report's recommendation on consolidation, it merged to form part of the Trustee Savings Bank of Tayside and Central Scotland. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airdrie Savings Bank</span>

Airdrie Savings Bank was a small commercial bank operation in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland. It ran three branches throughout the area, with its head office in Airdrie at the time of the announcement of its closure. Total assets of the bank at 31 October 2013 were £158 million with a reported loss of £267,000. In January 2017, the bank announced it would begin closure proceedings on 28 April of that year.

The Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS), originally called the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, was a savings bank headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. PSFS was founded in December 1816, the first savings bank to organize and do business in the United States. The bank would develop as one of the largest savings banks in the United States and became a Philadelphia institution. Generations of Philadelphians first opened accounts as children and became lifelong depositors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorkshire Bank</span> Retail bank in the United Kingdom

Yorkshire Bank is a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trustee Savings Bank</span> British financial institution

The Trustee Savings Bank (TSB) was a British financial institution that operated between 1810 and 1995 when it was merged with Lloyds Bank. Trustee savings banks originated to accept savings deposits from those with moderate means. Their shares were not traded on the stock market but, unlike mutually held building societies, depositors had no voting rights; nor did they have the power to direct the financial and managerial goals of the organisation. Directors were appointed as trustees on a voluntary basis. The first trustee savings bank was established by Rev. Henry Duncan of Ruthwell in Dumfriesshire for his poorest parishioners in 1810, with its sole purpose being to serve the local people in the community. Between 1970 and 1985, the various trustee savings banks in the United Kingdom were amalgamated into a single institution named TSB Group plc, which was floated on the London Stock Exchange. In 1995, the TSB merged with Lloyds Bank to form Lloyds TSB, at that point the largest bank in the UK by market share and the second-largest by market capitalisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savings bank</span> Category of non-profit financial institutions

A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks have mostly existed as a separate category in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedman's Savings Bank</span> Private savings bank chartered by the U.S. Congress

The Freedman's Saving and Trust Company, known as the Freedman's Savings Bank, was a private savings bank chartered by the U.S. Congress on March 3, 1865, to collect deposits from the newly emancipated communities. The bank opened 37 branches across 17 states and Washington DC within 7 years and collected funds from over 67,000 depositors. At the height of its success, the Freedman's Savings Bank held assets worth more than $3.7 million in 1872 dollars, which translates to approximately $80 million in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwich Savings Bank</span> American savings bank (1833–1981)

The Greenwich Savings Bank was an American savings bank based in New York City that operated from 1833 to 1981. At the time of its closure in 1981, it was the 16th largest bank in the U.S. by total deposits.

Bank regulation in the United States is highly fragmented compared with other G10 countries, where most countries have only one bank regulator. In the U.S., banking is regulated at both the federal and state level. Depending on the type of charter a banking organization has and on its organizational structure, it may be subject to numerous federal and state banking regulations. Apart from the bank regulatory agencies the U.S. maintains separate securities, commodities, and insurance regulatory agencies at the federal and state level, unlike Japan and the United Kingdom. Bank examiners are generally employed to supervise banks and to ensure compliance with regulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank</span> Financial institution which accepts deposits

A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.

The New York State Banking Department was created by the New York Legislature on April 15, 1851, with a chief officer to be known as the Superintendent. The New York State Banking Department was the oldest bank regulatory agency in the United States.

Bank United Corporation, headquartered in Houston, Texas, was a broad-based financial services provider and the largest publicly traded depository institution headquartered in Texas before its merger with Washington Mutual in 2001. Bank United Corp. conducted its business through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bank United, a federally chartered savings bank. The company operated a 155-branch community banking network in Texas, including 77 in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, 66 in the greater Houston area, five in Midland, four in Austin, and three in San Antonio; operated 19 SBA lending offices in 14 states; was a national middle market commercial bank with 23 regional offices in 16 states; originated mortgage loans through 11 wholesale offices in 10 states; operated a national mortgage servicing business serving approximately 324,000 customers, and managed an investment portfolio. As of June 30, 2000, Bank United Corp. had assets of $18.2 billion, deposits of $8.8 billion, and stockholder's equity of $823 million.

James Esdaile (1775–1854) was a Scottish minister and writer who spent his working life mainly at the East Church, Perth, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TSB Bank (United Kingdom)</span> British retail bank

TSB Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has been a subsidiary of Sabadell Group since 2015.

Equitable Bank is a Canadian bank that specializes in residential and commercial real estate lending, as well as personal banking through its digital arm, EQ Bank. Founded in 1970 as The Equitable Trust Company, it became a Schedule I Bank in 2013 and has since grown to become Canada's seventh largest bank by assets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dedham Institution for Savings</span> American bank

Dedham Savings is one of the oldest American banks still in operation and one of the oldest banks in the state of Massachusetts still doing business under its original charter.

Formed in 1836, the Edinburgh Savings Bank was successor to the Edinburgh Bank for Savings, which dated back to 1814. Although formed after the Ruthwell Savings Bank, the Edinburgh provided the model for future savings banks. By the end of World War two, it was second in size only to the Glasgow Savings Bank. In 1975, Edinburgh merged with three other Scottish savings banks to form an enlarged South of Scotland TSB.

The Aberdeen Savings Bank was a Scottish savings bank. It was formed in 1815 and reconstituted in 1845 under the 1835 Savings Act. It remained a small bank until the interwar period when a series of acquisitions made it grow to fifth in size in 1944. It became one of Scotland's four regional savings banks in 1975. In 1983, it became a part of TSB Scotland.

The Glasgow Savings Bank, formed in 1836, had become the largest savings banks in Scotland by the mid-1850s and the largest in the country by 1870. When the trustee savings banks were reorganised into regional banks in 1975 Glasgow became the core of the West of Scotland TSB.

The West Midland Savings Bank had its roots in Shrewsbury, Shropshire and the merger of its two town banks in 1839 to become the Salop County and Abbey Savings Bank. It remained one of many small savings banks in the Border Counties until the early twentieth century when it led a series of amalgamations. In recognition of its wider coverage, it became the West Midlands TSB in 1937. In 1975 it merged to form the TSB of Wales and Border Counties.

The Liverpool Savings Bank was a bank founded in 1815 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. By 1956, it had grown to be the fourth largest savings bank in the country. The bank became part of the TSB of Mid-Lancashire & Merseyside.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 [W A Barclay], The Savings Bank of the County and City of Perth 1815-1915, Perth, 1915?
  2. Leslie's directory for Perth and Kinross (1911), p. 23
  3. H Oliver Horne, A History of Savings Banks, Oxford, 1947
  4. "TSB Scotland collection - Archives Hub".