Scotland’s first and oldest bank celebrates 320 years

Following the passing of the Act, the Bank’s promoters opened two subscription books to raise starting capital for the bank which would one day become one of the biggest financial institutions in the world.

The Edinburgh subscription book lay in one of the capital’s pubs (the Cross Keys Tavern) from 1 Nov to 31 Dec 1695, so that people could sign up to be shareholders (‘Adventurers’) in the new venture.

Primarily set up to develop Scotland’s trade with mainly England and the Low Counties, Bank of Scotland began business in February 1696 with a working capital of £120,000 Scots – which is just £10,000 in today’s money.

Famous customers of the past include Henry Raeburn, Thomas Telford, Walter Scott, Thomas Carlyle, Robert Stevenson and Mrs Robert Burns.

The very first record of Bank of Scotland providing a loan to a customer appears in the minutes of 13 Apr 1696. These record that the directors approved a loan of £500 to the Earl of Strathmore, secured by a ‘pledge of silver plate’ to the value of £600.

Bank of Scotland successfully opened its first branch offices in Dumfries and Kelso in 1774.

Evidence suggests Dumfries was first branch to be operational - the first account at this branch was approved 26 Sep 1774, a couple of weeks before the first account at the Kelso branch.

On 23 August 1826, the last duel in Scotland was fought at Cardenbarns, Kirkcaldy. The duellers were David Landale and his bank manager, George Morgan who was the Bank of Scotland agent (manager) at Kirkcaldy. Morgan had challenged Landale to a duel following a long-standing quarrel over Landale’s credit worthiness. When Morgan was killed, Landale stood trial for murder but was acquitted on grounds of self-defence.

The first fleet of mobile banks were introduced in April 1963, serving the rural communities in Bathgate and Haddington. The service was extended over the following year, with a floating bank being introduced to serve the Orkney Islands. It was operated from the ‘M.V. Orcadia’, a passenger and cargo vessel.

In 1696, Bank of Scotland became the first European commercial bank to successfully issue printed currency. Notes were printed in black and white, on one side only, and with sections that had to be completed by hand. Colour wasn’t introduced to notes until the 1860s.

The first known forgery of a Bank of Scotland note occurred in February 1700, when Thomas McGhie changed the word ‘five’ to ‘fifty’. McGhie fled to England, abandoning his wife of just 14 days, and never returned. The Bank swiftly took steps to alter the design of the notes to make them more difficult to forge.

The earliest surviving Bank of Scotland note is dated 16 April 1716 and can be seen at the Group’s Museum on the Mound in Edinburgh.

The bank’s 320th birthday comes in a year of milestones for owners Lloyds Banking Group, with 2015 also marking the 200th anniversary of Scottish Widows, the 250th anniversary of Lloyds Bank.

Mike Moran, Director at Bank of Scotland said: “A lot has changed since 1695, but building relationships with our customers and helping them make the right decisions, both big and small, is just as important to us today as it was right at the very beginning. Our focus on serving the needs of the people, communities and businesses of Scotland is stronger than ever. We are Scotland’s relationship bank, part of the fabric of everyday life, and we’re very proud of how far we’ve come. “