Scottish Blog

The Bank of Scotland is the oldest surviving bank in the United Kingdom.

The Bank of Scotland was established on the 17th of July 1695, by a parliamentary act, specifically the “Act for erecting a Bank in Scotland”. It commenced operations in February of 1696. At the time the Bank of Scotland held a monopoly on the market of private sector banking, as it closest rival, the Bank of England, was established solely with the purpose of funding the English governments spending on national defense.
The Bank of Scotland kept its monopoly for a length of twenty one years.

In 1715, the Bank of Scotland raised large amounts of money to finance the Jacobite Uprising. In retaliation a royal charter was issued allowing the creation of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Heavy competition commenced between the two banks, which led to both an expansion in branches and services from both banks. This was only increased by the arrival of other banks. In coming years a number of these banks were merged into the Bank of Scotland. Of these some of the most prominent were the Halifax Bank of Scotland, along with the Bank of Western Australia and the Countrywide Bank of New Zealand (although this was later sold to Lloyds TSB).

Along with being one of the first banks in the United Kingdom, the Bank of Scotland was also the first to issue their own bank notes, which they continue to do to this day. Presently the Bank of Scotland is beginning to phase out their notes in favor of new designs, which are expected to be in complete circulation by 2010. The new notes feature a collection of Scottish bridges, namely Brig o;Doon, the Glenfinnian Viaduct, Forth Bridge, the Falkirk Wheel and the Kessock Bridge.