About this company

This joint stock bank, initially to be called the Royal Bank, was founded in 1833 as National Provincial Bank of England, and its promoters saw it from the outset as a national rather than regional bank with branches across England and Wales. Foremost in the campaign for the establishment of the bank had been Thomas Joplin, a Newcastle timber merchant, who was keen to imitate Scottish and Irish models whereby each branch was constituted as a separate bank with ownership shared between the parent bank and local shareholders. The bank opened its first branch at Gloucester in January 1834, but by 1835 the principle of the semi-autonomous branch had proved unworkable and was abandoned. By 1836 there were over 20 branches, stretching from Cardiff to Ipswich. A purely administrative office was maintained in London so that the bank could issue its own banknotes.

National Provincial Bank expanded quickly opening new branches and taking over local banking companies including: Vye & Harris (established 1807) of Ilfracombe in 1836; William Skinner & Co (established c.1815) of Stockton in 1836; Husband & Co (established 1810) of Devonport in 1839; Fryer, Andrews & Co (established c.1790) of Wimborne in 1840; Cole, Holroyd & Co (established 1822) of Exeter in 1842 and Thomas Kinnersley & Sons (established c.1780) of Newcastle-under-Lyne in 1855. By 1865 the bank had 122 branches and paid-up capital in excess of £1 million. Much of its success can be attributed to the astute leadership of the bank’s first general manager, a Scottish banker called Daniel Robertson.

A major change in policy occurred in 1866 when the right to issue banknotes was surrendered, following the decision to conduct banking business in London. New premises in the City of London, with a magnificent banking hall designed by John Gibson, became National Provincial’s head office. The branch network continued to expand rapidly both across the capital and in the provinces. It acquired Bank of Leeds (established 1864) in 1878, County of Stafford Bank (established 1836) in 1899 and Knaresborough & Claro Banking Co (established 1831) in 1903. By the end of the century the bank had around 250 branches and a paid-up capital of £3 million.

National Provincial suffered from staff shortages and controls on lending during the First World War, but in 1918 amalgamated with another major clearing bank, Union of London & Smiths Bank (established 1839), created by merger with Smith Payne & Smiths (established 1788) in 1902 and the private Prescott's Bank (established 1766) in 1903, to form National Provincial & Union Bank of England. This was one of a series of amalgamations in the banking industry in the aftermath of the First World War which culminated in the formation of the 'Big Five' banks, including National Provincial & Union Bank of England - these banks were to dominate the British banking scene for the next half century.

National Provincial acquired a number of banks between 1919 and 1924, including Sheffield Banking Co (established 1831) in 1919; Bradford District Bank (established 1862) in 1918; Northamptonshire Union Bank (established 1836) in 1920; Dingley & Co (established 1855) of Launceston in 1922; Dingley, Pearse & Co (established 1856) of Okehampton in 1922; and Guernsey Banking Co Ltd (established 1847) in 1924, and the private bank of Coutts & Co (established 1692) in 1920. In 1924 was restyled National Provincial Bank. The initial post war boom was followed by the stock market crash of 1929 and economic depression and the reduced demand for loans, particularly from business, led the bank to consolidate.

The austerity and government controls resulting from the Second World War were only gradually lifted in the 1950s. Thereafter, competition from hire purchase firms caused National Provincial to take interests in mercantile credit companies, acquiring North Central Finance (established 1861) in 1958. It also purchased Isle of Man Bank (established 1865) in 1961. The bank later introduced the personal loan and, in 1965, issued the precursor of the cheque card. In 1968 National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank announced their decision to merge, effective from 1970, as National Westminster Bank.

Source: www.rbs.co.uk