- National Bank of Scotland
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Former headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Scotland on George Street, Edinburgh, by architect David Rhind
The National Bank of Scotland Ltd. was a Scottish commercial bank. It was founded in 1825, and obtained a royal charter in 1831. It became the first Scottish bank to open a London office, in 1864. 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.
During the bank's first year of trading it opened 13 branches, including a headquarters in St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh. The first governor of the bank was the Duke of Roxburghe. Expansion of the bank saw it acquire the Commercial Banking Company of Aberdeen in 1833, the Perth Union Banking Company in 1836, and the Bank of Glasgow in 1844. The London office opened in 1864 on Finch Lane, and the bank became a limited company in 1882. From 1881 to the early 20th century, the National Bank was Scotland's second-largest, in terms of its liabilities and deposits, the largest being the Bank of Scotland.
Lloyds Bank purchased the capital of the National Bank in 1918, although the two banks remained separate. 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. In 1947 a new headquarters building was opened in St. Andrew Square, designed in an American-inspired style.[1]
The bank merged with the Commercial Bank of Scotland (est. 1910) in 1959, following an agreement with Lloyds, whereby they exchanged their ownership of the National Bank, in return for a stake in the merged institution. At the time of the merger, the National Bank operated 198 branches in Scotland and England. Throughout its history, the bank issued its own banknotes.
References
- "National Bank of Scotland Ltd, Edinburgh, 1825-1959". RBS Heritage Online. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc. http://heritagearchives.rbs.com/wiki/National_Bank_of_Scotland_Ltd%2C_Edinburgh%2C_1825-1959. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
External links
- National Bank of Scotland cheque, The Glasgow Story
- The National Bank of Scotland, bankingletters.co.uk
Categories:- Banks of Scotland
- Banks established in 1825
- Companies based in Edinburgh
- Royal Bank of Scotland Group
- Defunct banks of the United Kingdom
- 1825 establishments in Scotland
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