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Coutts & Co. is a London-headquartered
private bank Private banks are banks owned by either the individual or a general Partner (business rank), partner(s) with limited partner(s). Private banks are not incorporation (business), incorporated. In any such case, creditors can look to both the "enti ...
and
wealth manager Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high ...
. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of
NatWest Group NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
's wealth management division. In the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
and the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...
, Coutts Crown Dependencies operates as a trading name of The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited. In 2021, Coutts achieved B-Corp Status becoming only the 3rd UK bank to achieve the certification.


History

The bank which was to become Coutts & Co, was originally a goldsmith-banker's shop. It was formed in 1692 by a young Scots goldsmith-banker, John Campbell of
Lundie Lundie is a parish and small settlement in Angus, Scotland, northwest of Dundee, situated at the head of the Dighty valley in the Sidlaws, off the A923 Dundee to Coupar Angus Coupar Angus (; Gaelic: ''Cùbar Aonghais'') is a town in Perth ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. He set up business in the
Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...
, London, under a sign of the
Three Crowns Three Crowns ( sv, tre kronor, links=no) is the national emblem of Sweden, present in the coat of arms of Sweden, and composed of three yellow or gilded coronets ordered two above and one below, placed on a blue background. Similar designs are f ...
, as was customary in the days before street numbers. Today, the Coutts logo still has the three crowns, and its headquarters is still on the Strand. Campbell died in 1712, leaving the business to members of his family. The dominant force was Campbell's son in law, George Middleton, who had become Campbell's partner in 1708. During Middleton's stewardship, the bank was buffeted by one crisis after another. The
Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, ...
threatened the stability of the banking system; and
John Law John Law may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist * John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner * John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director * John Law (musician) (born 1961) ...
, the
Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level execut ...
of France's finances, owed a great deal of money to the bank when the
Mississippi Company The Mississippi Company (french: Compagnie du Mississippi; founded 1684, named the Company of the West from 1717, and the Company of the Indies from 1719) was a corporation holding a business monopoly in French colonies in North America and t ...
bubble burst in 1720 and the English stock market collapsed in the same year. Stability for the bank did not return until 1735. John's son, George Campbell was also a partner, and ultimately became the sole partner after the death of Middleton in 1747, after which the bank was renamed the "Bankers of 59 Strand". In 1755, John Campbell's granddaughter, Mary (known as "Polly"), married a merchant and banker, James Coutts. Polly was George Campbell's niece and George immediately made James a partner. The bank became known as Campbell & Coutts, with James running the business and becoming sole partner following Polly's and George's deaths in 1760. George bequeathed most of his fortune, and the bank, to James.


Thomas Coutts

In 1761 James took his brother Thomas Coutts into the business, which was now named James and Thomas Coutts. James and Thomas did not always get on and eventually James drifted into politics, leaving the running of the bank to Thomas. James retired from the bank in 1775 due to ill health. The bank in the Strand became known as Thomas Coutts & Co. The bank flourished under the lead of Thomas, who took in three partners: Sir Edmund Antrobus (1st Baronet), Edward Marjoribanks and Coutts Trotter. In the final decade of the 18th century, the premises at 59 Strand were significantly extended, and profits rose from £9,700 in 1775 to £72,000 in 1821. Edmund Antrobus, who started at Coutts as a lowly clerk, was taken into partnership in 1777. The bank on the Strand was substantially rebuilt between 1780 and 1790, employing the King's Master Mason,
John Deval John Deval (1701–1774) was an 18th-century British sculptor and Master Mason, as was his namesake son (1728–1794). He was Chief Mason to the Crown and was the mason for the Tower of London and Royal Mews. Life He was born in Eynsham in Oxf ...
. By the time he died in 1826 he had been made a baronet, and he left a fortune estimated at £700,000 with newly-acquired estates at Amesbury (Wilts) and Rutherford (Roxburghshire). Thomas Coutts married twice. His first wife, a servant named Susannah Starkie, gave him three daughters nicknamed "The Three Graces" who eventually married leading figures in British society: the Earl of Guilford, the
Marquess of Bute Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute. Family history John Stuart was the member of a family that ...
and Sir Francis Burdett. Thomas also had four sons who died in infancy. When Susannah died, he remarried just four days after the funeral. Thomas Coutts was 80 years old, and his new wife,
Harriot Mellon Harriet Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans (alternate spelling: Harriot; née Mellon; 11 November 1777 – 6 August 1837) was a British banker and actress who eventually starred at Drury Lane. She was successively the wife of banker Thomas Coutts ...
, was 40 years younger and an actress, which stirred considerable comment. On Thomas' death in 1822 the bank was renamed "Coutts & Co." Thomas' widow, Harriot, inherited £900,000 from Thomas along with a 50% share in the bank. Although she did not get on with her stepdaughters, she wanted to keep the bank in the Coutts family. Harriot died in 1837. In her will, the Coutts fortune was passed on to Thomas' granddaughter, Angela Burdett, the daughter of Sophia Coutts and Sir Francis Burdett. The will contained three conditions: first, Angela's 50% share in the bank must be held in trust; second, the heir must take the name Coutts; and third, the heir must never marry a foreigner.


Angela Burdett-Coutts

Upon receipt of her inheritance, Angela Burdett-Coutts became the wealthiest woman in Britain. She devoted her life to philanthropy, giving away an estimated amount of between £3 million and £4 million. Her charity ranged widely: she supported the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
and its Anglican offshoots overseas, as well as the arts, but the main thrust of her charity was directed toward improving the lives of the poor. A sewing school in
Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...
, cotton gins in what is now
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, boats and nets for the Irish fishing industry, and
ragged schools Ragged schools were charitable organisations dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century Britain. The schools were developed in working-class districts. Ragged schools were intended for society's most destitute childre ...
in the poorest sections of cities were but a few of her projects.
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-cons ...
, the
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
, and
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
resolved to acknowledge her philanthropic spirit formally. In 1871, she was granted a peerage in her own right as ''Baroness Burdett-Coutts of Highgate and Brookfield in the County of Middlesex.'' In 1880, it became known that the baroness wished to marry her young American secretary William Ashmead-Bartlett, who was her junior by thirty-seven years. The partners of the bank were aghast at the prospect of such a marriage, as were many dignitaries; they saw Bartlett as an adventurer, only interested in her money.
Archibald Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was bor ...
, the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...
, attempted to prevent the marriage, while Queen Victoria herself, with whom the Baroness had often dined, tried to prevent what she called the "mad marriage". The Queen wrote to Lord Harrowby saying that it would grieve her much "if Lady Burdett-Coutts were to sacrifice her high reputation and her happiness by such an unsuitable marriage". This letter was passed on to Lady Burdett-Coutts, who asked Lord Harrowby to reply that he had no knowledge of the subject alluded to—quite a snub to the Queen. One potential stumbling block to the marriage was her step-grandmother's (Harriot's) will which forbade marriage to an alien. As Bartlett was an American, the marriage would cause her to be disinherited. In that event, her younger sister Clara would inherit. Angela Burdett-Coutts managed to get Clara to waive her rights. Clara's son Francis (known as Frank) was not, however, so easily dissuaded, and consulted his lawyers, thinking to forestall the marriage by standing on their rights. Finally Bartlett himself, in the face of immense pressure from society, offered to release the baroness from his offer of marriage. She, however, remained determined, refusing to release Bartlett from his promise, in spite of various scandalous accusations being made against him involving another woman, and even his fathering of an illegitimate child. In February 1881, at the age of 67, Angela Burdett-Coutts broke the terms of the will by marrying Bartlett in Christ Church, Down Street,
Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...
. The partners of the bank rushed to reassure the press that the heiress was neither a partner in the bank, nor could she touch the capital. An argument sprang up over the inheritance and, in particular, over whether Angela should give up the bank to her sister Clara. Angela fought back, claiming that Bartlett was only half American and therefore not technically an "alien". Clara then claimed the fortune, and the bitter dispute continued. In anticipation of victory, Clara and her son Frank took the name "Coutts", as required by the will. Finally, a compromise was struck, with the majority of the Coutts fortune set to pass to Clara and her heirs. Angela Burdett-Coutts, however, kept two-fifths of the income until her death in 1906. On changing her name, Clara Burdett, who had married James Money in 1850, became Clara Burdett Money-Coutts. Her son Francis' full name became Francis Burdett Thomas Nevill Money-Coutts. He was better known as Francis (or Frank) Coutts, a writer and poet. He became 5th Baron Latymer in 1913 and died in 1923. The following appeared in ''
Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pu ...
'' at the time:
''Money takes the name of Coutts,'' ''Superfluous and funny'' ''For everyone considers Coutts,'' ''Synonymous with Money.'' :—Vere Carpenter
The Panic of 1890 forced the bank to change from a
partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...
to an unlimited liability company in 1892. At that time, limited liability was seen by depositors as risky. As a partnership, the Coutts family would have been personally liable to any depositor for their bank deposit in a crisis, but there was no crisis. Despite this, there was little change in the organisation; the working partners were divided between managing and junior managing partners.


Further expansion

In 1904, the bank moved to its current premises at 440, The Strand. In 1914, Coutts took over the bank of Robarts, Lubbock & Co. in the city, obtaining a branch office and a clearing house seat in the process. In 1919, Coutts merged with the National Provincial & Union Bank of England but retaining the Coutts & Co. name and board of directors. Throughout the 20th century, Coutts opened more branches. The first West End branch outside 440 Strand was opened in 1921 in Park Lane. Further London branches were opened in the West End (1921), Cavendish Square (1927), Sloane Street (1929), Mayfair (1932), London Wall (1962), Brompton Road (1975), and Kensington (1978). In 1961 the Bank first moved outside the capital, opening a branch at Eton, followed by a branch in Bristol in 1976. In 1969, National Provincial Bank (and its District Bank subsidiary) merged with Westminster Bank to form
National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 200 ...
. Coutts embraced modern technology, becoming one of the first banks to bring in machine-posted ledgers at the end of the 1920s. In 1963 it was the first British bank to have a fully computerised accounting system. In 1987, Coutts gained international representation by establishing operations in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
, Switzerland. Between 1974 and 1978, Coutts' Strand headquarters were redeveloped by
Frederick Gibberd Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd (7 January 1908 – 9 January 1984) was an English architect, town planner and landscape designer. He is particularly known for his work in Harlow, Essex, and for the BISF house, a design for a prefabricated counci ...
and Partners. Francis Burdett Coutts's great grandson, Sir David Burdett Money-Coutts, became chairman in 1976, retiring in 1993, leaving his cousin Crispin Money-Coutts (heir to the title of Baron Latymer) as the last remaining Coutts name until his resignation. In October 1990, Coutts and
NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, i ...
decided to strengthen their representation internationally, and the Coutts Group was created when subsidiaries already owned by Coutts and NatWest were merged.


21st century

In 2000, NatWest was purchased by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) in one of the largest corporate transactions in the European banking sector. RBS Group became NatWest Group in 2020. In 2003, Coutts acquired
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...
-based Bank von Ernst & Cie and in 2008, Coutts Bank von Ernst and other Coutts International subsidiaries became RBS Coutts Bank. These traded as RBS Coutts International to align them with the parent Group until 2011, when RBS Coutts was renamed Coutts & Co. Limited. The international division was renamed Coutts International Coutts International was sold to
Union Bancaire Privée Union Bancaire Privée (UBP SA) is a private bank and wealth management firm headquartered in Geneva. UBP is one of the largest private banks in Switzerland, and serves private and institutional clients. The bank was founded in 1969 by Edgar de ...
(UBP) of Switzerland on 29 March 2015, for an undisclosed figure. This was part of the Group's strategy to reduce the number of countries it operated in, in favour of a greater focus on the United Kingdom. Coutts' business in Europe, the Middle East, Singapore and Hong Kong was to be transferred to UBP, who were required to rebrand the business.


Corporate governance

The bank's chief executive is Peter Flavel, who has been in the role since 2016. The company's board is chaired by Lord Waldegrave. Coutts non-executive directors are Mark Lund, Sharmila Nebhrajani, Linda Urquhart and Matt Waymark.


Locations

The bank's headquarters are at 440
Strand, London Strand (or the Strand) is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. It runs just over from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and i ...
. It closed its Canary Wharf, St Mary Axe, Cadogan Place and Fleet Street London offices in 2013, and closed Premier Place in London in 2017. Its current UK offices are listed on its Web site; there were offices in 17 cities in 2022.There were international offices in Zurich, Berne, Geneva, Hong Kong, Montevideo, Singapore, Dubai, Jersey, Isle of Man, Miami, Monaco and Cayman Islands until the sale of Coutts International in 2015.


Clients

Until the 20th century Coutts was a clearing bank to the
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
and
landed gentry The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, t ...
, but then became a wealth manager to a wider range of clients, including entrepreneurs, entertainers, sportsmen, professionals, executives, lottery winners, and football players. The British Royal Family are notable clients; the bank was sometimes referred to as "the Queen's bank". There are stringent requirements to being accepted as a client, not just based on financial assets. In 2001 prospective clients needed at least £500,000 in disposable funds; in 2022 potential clients are asked "Are you looking to borrow £1m+?", or to use the bank's investment advisory services for assets over £1m+.
Trustpilot Trustpilot Group plc, is a Danish consumer business operating a review website founded in Denmark in 2007 which hosts reviews of businesses worldwide. Nearly 1 million new reviews are posted each month. The site offers freemium services to busine ...
has a page for customer reviews of Coutts.


Design

Coutts often collaborates with British fashion designers, including previous designs for its distinctive credit and debit cards. In 2004, British fashion designer and Savile Row tailor
Ozwald Boateng Ozwald Boateng, OBE () (born 28 February 1967) is a British fashion designer, best known for his trademark twist on classic tailoring and bespoke styles. Early life Boateng was born in the Muswell Hill district of London on 28 February 1967, ...
designed the super-premium Coutts World Charge Card, and in 2006
Stella McCartney Stella Nina McCartney (born 13 September 1971) is an English fashion designer. She is a daughter of British singer-songwriter Paul McCartney and the late American photographer and animals rights activist Linda McCartney. Like her parents, McCa ...
was commissioned to design the Coutts Visa debit card. The card included a translucent Coutts logo which could only be seen if held up to the light. In 2013 Coutts replaced its purple 'World' charge card, which had been designed by Boateng, with the new 'Silk' Charge card. The silk design was inspired by the traditional Chinese wallpaper brought back by Britain's first ambassador to China, Earl Macartney in 1794, and presented to Thomas Coutts, which lines the walls of the boardroom at the Strand headquarters.


Sponsorship

Coutts says that they "support causes and organisations that share our values and traditions". In the early nineteenth century, Thomas Coutts became a shareholder of what became the
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...
, and Coutts remains a Principal Benefactor. Coutts has been the principal sponsor of the non-commercial
Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...
, and has supported the annual London Design Festival.


Malpractice


Money laundering rule breaches

In March 2012 Coutts was fined £8.75m for breaches of
money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...
rules after "serious" and "systemic" problems in handling the affairs of "
politically exposed person In financial regulation, a politically exposed person (PEP) is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function. A PEP generally presents a higher risk for potential involvement in bribery and corruption by virtue of their position and ...
s", customers entrusted with a prominent public function, requiring money-laundering checks. The
Financial Services Authority The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 19 ...
(FSA) fined Coutts because of an "unacceptable risk" that the bank could have been handling the proceeds of crime for a three-year period up to November 2010 after failing to properly deal with "politically exposed" customers. Following an industry-wide review in 2010, the FSA found that Coutts was not conducting robust-enough checks on such high-risk customers and was not monitoring relationships with them properly. The FSA reviewed a sample of 103 high-risk customer files, and identified deficiencies in 73 of them. The FSA's acting director of enforcement and financial crime, Tracey McDermott, said that "Coutts's failings were significant, widespread and unacceptable. Its conduct fell well below the standards we expect and the size of the financial penalty demonstrates how seriously we view its failures". Coutts's bonus system rewarded bankers for opening accounts, providing an incentive to bring in new business without too much scrutiny, and the bank's anti-money laundering team, required to identify high-risk customers, failed to identify enough "politically exposed persons". In two cases reviewed by the FSA, bankers did not conduct appropriate checks on the customers, and failed to identify serious criminal allegations against them. There were five cases where sources had provided "adverse intelligence" such as allegations of criminal activity, but all the accounts had been approved by Coutts. A spokesperson for Coutts said that there was no evidence that money laundering took place as a result of its deficient controls, and said that "We recognise our systems weren't totally adequate in the past and we've taken steps to improve these". Coutts would have been fined £12.5m if it had not agreed to settle at an early stage in the investigation.


Mis-selling of AIG fund

In November 2011 the
Financial Services Authority The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 19 ...
(FSA) fined Coutts £6.3m for mis-selling the American International Group (AIG) Enhanced Variable Rate Fund, which invested a significant proportion of its assets in riskier asset-backed securities, between December 2003 and September 2008. The FSA required Coutts to compensate all customers who suffered a loss due to its failings in selling AIG Life Premier Bonds. A run started on the fund following the late-2000s financial crisis. Coutts customers had £748m invested in the fund when it was suspended in September 2008, but were only allowed to withdraw half of their investment. Many transferred the remaining 50% to a non-interest-bearing recovery fund until July 2012. The FSA said Coutts failed by giving advisers inadequate training around the risks of the product. Coutts recommended the fund to some customers even though it might have exposed them to more capital risk than they were willing to accept, and many customers were advised to invest too large a proportion of their overall assets in the fund. Coutts agreed to settle at an early stage in exchange for a 30% discount on its fine, which would otherwise have been £9m.


References in culture

Coutts is mentioned in the 1889
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...
Savoy opera Savoy opera was a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impr ...
''
The Gondoliers ''The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria'' is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the ...
'' in the following lyrics:
The Aristocrat who banks with Coutts— The Aristocrat who hunts and shoots— The Aristocrat who cleans our boots— They all shall equal be!
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
mentions Coutts in his 1886 classic novella '' Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' as being the bank of choice for Dr Jekyll: "...and presently came back with the matter of ten pounds in gold and a cheque for the balance on Coutts's drawn payable to bearer,..." In the first episode of Michael Palin's '' Around the World in 80 Days'', Palin visits the bank to inquire about the safeguarding and ease of replacing money while on his trip. His bank manager suggests a code-word, which will alert a less knowledgeable member of his staff that Palin is indeed who he says he is, the code-word in question being Jabberwocky. In chapter three of
Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busi ...
's novel, ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
'', Jonathan Harker lists the recipients of several of Dracula's letters in his journal, including: "... the third was to Coutts & Co., London".


See also

Other private banks owned by the
NatWest Group NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
: * Adam and Company * Child & Co * Drummonds Bank


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

*
Coutts Crown Dependencies
{{Authority control Private banks NatWest Group Banks based in the City of London Banks established in 1692 1692 establishments in England Banking in Great Britain Companies based in the City of Westminster