COUTTS

'Coutts' is one of the UK's leading private banks, owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). RBS acquired Coutts and all of its overseas subsidiaries when it bought NatWest. Coutts offers a range of private banking services including investment management and advisory services.

Contents

History

Locations

Offices in London

Offices outside London

Management

Becoming a Client

Customers

References in culture

See also

External links

History

The bank which was to become 'Coutts & Co', was originally known as 'Campbells Bank'.
It was formed in 1692 by a young Scots goldsmith-banker, John Campbell of Lundie, Scotland. He set up business in the Strand, London, under a sign of the Three Crowns. Today, the Coutts logo still has the three crowns, and its headquarters is still in 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 Campell's partner in 1708.
During the years of Middleton's stewardship, the bank was going downhill, buffeted by one crisis after another. The Jacobite revolution of 1715 threatened the Stability of the banking system, John Law, the Comptroller of France's finances, owed a great deal of money to the bank when the Mississippi Company 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 grand-daughter, Mary (known as "Polly"), married a merchant, James Coutts. Polly was George Campbell's niece and George immediately made James a partner. The bank was renamed 'Campbell & Coutts'. James ran the business. Following the Polly's and George's deaths in 1760, James became the sole partner. George bequeathed most of his fortune, and the bank to James. In 1761 James took his brother Thomas Coutts in to 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'.
Thomas Coutts married twice. His first wife, a servant named Susannah Starkie, was considered to be beneath his station. She gave him three beautiful daughters nicknamed "The Three Graces" who eventually married leading figures in British society: the Earl of Guildford, the Marquis of Bute 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, was 40 years younger and an actress, which stirred considerable comment. On Thomas' death in 1822 was renamed "Coutts & Co."

Thomas' widow, Harriot, inherited £900,000 from Thomas along with the bank. Although she did not get on with her step-daughters, 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's grand-daughter, Angela Burdett, the daughter of Sophie Coutts and Sir Francis Burdett. The will contained three conditions: Firstly the bank was to be held in Trust, secondly that the heir should take the name of Coutts, and thirdly that the heir may never marry a foreigner. Thus, Angela became Angela Burdett-Coutts.
By 1837, Angela Burdett-Coutts was wealthiest woman in Britain. Angela had no children and gave away more than £3 million to causes such as the Ragged Schools Union and the Temperance Society.
At the age of 67, Angela broke the terms of the Will by marrying a foreigner. Her husband was her young American secretary, William Ashmead-Bartlett. Angela's sister, Clara, claimed the fortune, and a bitter dispute followed. Most of the Coutts fortune passed to Clara and her heirs. However, Angela kept two fifths of the income until her death in 1906.
In accordance with the Will, Clara Burdett, who had married James Money in 1850 became Clara Burdett Money-Coutts.
The following appeared in "Punch" at the time:-

:''Money takes the name of Coutts,''
:''Superfluous and fimny
★ ,''
:''For everyone considers Coutts,''
:''Synonymous with Money.''
[Vere Carpenter]

★ "fimny" is assumed to be a mis-type of "funny".
Her son Francis' full name was Francis Burdett Money Coutts-Nevill, 5th Baron Latymer. He was better known as Francis Coutts, a writer and poet. He became Baron Latymer in 1913.
The Panic of 1890 forced the bank to change from a Limited company to a Partnership. At that time, limited liability was seen as risky by depositors. As a partnership, the Coutts family would have been personally liable to any depositor for his bank deposit in a crisis. Fortunately, there was no crisis.
In 1904, the bank moved to its current premises at 440 Strand. In 1914 Coutts took over the bank of Roberts, Lubbock & Co, obtaining a branch office and a clearing house seat in the process.
In 1919, Coutts merged with the National Provincial & Union Bank of England whilst retaining the name "Coutts". In 1961, the first branch outside London was opened in Eton, Berkshire. In 1969, Coutts became part of the National Westminster bank.
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 Baron Latymer), as the last remaining Coutts name until 1999 when Crispin resigned.
In 2000, National Westminster Bank was purchased by the Royal Bank of Scotland in one of the largest corporate transactions ever in the European Banking Sector. Today Coutts is part of the Wealth Management division of RBS.
Coutts still has its headquarters at 440 Strand, London, with branches throughout the UK and the rest of the world. It is a private bank, which means its clients are expected to have substantial income or liquid assets in excess of £500,000. The bank is best known in the UK as Queen Elizabeth's banker. A Coutts Automated Teller Machine is in the basement of Buckingham Palace for use by the Royal Family.

Locations

Coutts private bank operate and have offices throughout the World. Coutts are split into three separate entities:

★ Coutts, who look after the 22 offices in the UK as well as the office in Monaco.

★ Coutts Bank von Ernst (CBVE), who look after the 6 offices in Switzerland alongside offices in Spain, Singapore,Hong Kong, Japan and Uruguay.

★ Coutts Offshore, who operate out of three offices; Jersey, Isle of Man and Cayman.
Coutts has offices in London and throughout the UK

Offices in London

Cadogan Place, Canary Wharf, St. Mary Axe, Cavendish Square, Crosby Court, Fleet Street and the head office in the Strand.

Offices outside London

Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Eton, Guildford, Hampshire, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Oxford, Winchester and Tunbridge Wells.

Management

★ Chairman of Coutts Group: 'The Earl of Home' (David Douglas-Home)

★ Chief Executive of Wealth Management (Coutts is part of RBS Group Wealth Management): 'John Baines'.

★ Chief Executive of Coutts: 'Sarah Deaves'

★ Chief Executive of Coutts Bank von Ernst Limited, Switzerland: 'Hanspeter Brunner'.

Becoming a Client

As a discreet organisation, Coutts is not overt about the conditions that must be met in order to open an account. They are, however, as follows:
In order to become a Coutts client, you must have either
a) Investable assets of £500,000
and/or
b) Net assets (including your house, jewellery, artwork, etc.) totalling £5,000,000.
Additionally Coutts will consider taking on customers who have the potential to meet these criteria in the next 3-5 years and can prove historic earnings over recent years in excess of £100,000 pa

Customers

Coutts is known as the "Queen's Bank" to many by virtue of it being reputed to be the bankers to the British Royal Family. Within the UK it is the largest Private Bank and is said only to accept financially independent customers with more than £500,000 to deposit. However press articles in October 2005 reported Coutts as saying that you would need at least £3 million to be considered financially independent. Being a millionaire will get you in as a customer, but perhaps it won't guarantee you financial independence.
Historically Coutts was an upper crust clearing bank to the landed gentry, but today they are seen as wealth managers willing to accept a wider class of clientele, including top sportsmen, lottery winners, football stars, businessmen, chief executives, and pop singers and the growing numbers of female businesswomen
and entrepreneurs in the UK.
As well as being the Queen's banker, Coutts is also known as a bank for the rich and famous of British society.
Sir Richard Branson is a notable customer who have banked with Coutts since the early days of his business enterprises . Former Spice Girl, and wife to famous footballer David Beckham, Victoria Beckham is a client, and carries a Coutts & Co World MasterCard Signia card, similar to the American Express Centurion card, that she uses when shopping all over the world. English singer Elton John is another famous client .

References in culture

Coutts is mentioned in the 1889 Gilbert and Sullivan Savoy opera ''The Gondoliers'' in the following lyrics:
:''They all shall equal be!''
:''The Earl, the Marquis, and the Dook,''
:''The Groom, the Butler, and the Cook,''
:''The Aristocrat who banks with Coutts,''
:''The Aristocrat who cleans the boots,''
:''The Noble Lord who rules the State,''
:''The Noble Lord who scrubs the grate.''

See also

★ Clan Farquharson - the surname 'Coutts' is a sept of this Scottish clan

External links

★ Coutts Private banking and Commercial banking official Coutts website

★ Coutts global locations page Coutts global offices map