Smith's Bank

The main bank building in Old Market Square, Nottingham
Plaque on Smith's Bank in Nottingham
Arms of Smith: Or, a chevron cotised sable between three demi-griffins couped of the last the two in chief respecting each other[1]

Smith's Bank was a series of English banking partnerships in London and the provinces, all controlled by the Smith family that operated between 1658 and 1918. Although Smith's Bank was never a single entity, the first bank was established in Nottingham by Thomas Smith; often dated to 1658, it is believed to be the first bank to be formed outside London.

Smith's grandson, Abel Smith II, substantially increased the scale of the enterprise, opening banks in Lincoln and Hull and, most importantly, the London firm of Smith & Payne. Other banks were later opened or acquired in the east midlands area.[2]

The bank lost its direction in the late nineteenth century and its solution was to merge with the Union Bank of London in 1902, forming the Union of London & Smith's Bank. This in turn was acquired by the National Provincial Bank in 1918,[2] which merged into today's National Westminster Bank in 1970.

  1. ^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.223, Smith/Carington, Baron Carrington; p.145, Smith, Baron Bicester, both descendants of the banker Abel Smith II (1717–1788)
  2. ^ a b J. Leighton Boyce, Smith's the Bankers 1658–1958 (1958).