Drummonds Bank

Messrs. Drummond is a formerly independent private bank that is now owned by NatWest Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland incorporating Messrs. Drummond, Bankers is based at 49 Charing Cross in central London. Drummonds is authorised as a brand of The Royal Bank of Scotland by the Prudential Regulation Authority.[1]

Drummonds Bank

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Private banking
Founded	1717
Founder	Andrew Drummond
Headquarters	49 Charing Cross London SW1A 2DX
Products	Wealth management
Parent	Royal Bank of Scotland

History

Goldsmith Andrew Drummond (1688–1769) founded the bank in 1717.[2] The bank remained within the Drummonds family until 1924 when the bank was purchased by The Royal Bank of Scotland. The bank was the first acquisition for the Royal Bank south of the Scottish border and would be the first step in the bank's development into the largest bank in the world in terms of assets.

The bank offers a variety of services to its private clients, including wealth and asset management. It has been based at its headquarters since 1760. Prior to 1758, the site was occupied by the townhouse, Naunton House. In 1758 the Westminster Bridge Commissioners purchased Naunton House and its neighbouring houses, for the purpose of widening the street. The surplus property was sold to Drummond's for £1,100. [3] The building was reconstructed in 1877 to 1881; Admiralty Arch was built and The Mall laid out nearby shortly after. The building is listed Grade II on Historic England's register of listed buildings.[4]

In 1992, RBS Holt's branch, Whitehall was absorbed by Drummonds; it continues to operate as Holt's Military Banking, based in Farnborough, offering private banking tailored to the needs of navy, army and air force officers.

Drummonds' focus on wealth management led the bank to creating a specialised department for UK National Lottery winners separate from its more traditional practices.

Clients

As is tradition with most London private banks, account holders' identities are kept a bank secret. Some historical clients have though been revealed, including a variety of distinguished figures: HM King George III and other members of the royal family, Alexander Pope, Benjamin Disraeli, Beau Brummell, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Robert and James Adam, Capability Brown, Josiah Wedgwood, Ted and Thomas Gainsborough. The bank also holds accounts for organisations and institutions such as the Conservative Party and Royal Academy.

Royal account holders

Both Coutts & Co. and Drummonds have received royal patronage. King George III moved his account from Coutts to Drummonds during his reign as he was displeased with Coutts for bank-rolling the Prince of Wales from his personal account. Messrs Drummond & Co. honoured the wishes of the King but unsurprisingly when the Prince of Wales became King George IV in 1820 he moved the royal account back to Coutts. More recent known members of the royal family to bank at Drummonds include the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

See also

• Adam and Company
• Child & Co.
• Coutts & Co
• C. Hoare & Co

References

1. Financial Services Authority (1 June 2010). "UK banking and savings groups". Retrieved 20 September 2010.
2. Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher (1993). The London Encyclopaedia (Rev. ed.). London: PaperMac. p. 245. ISBN 0333576888. OCLC 28963301.
3. "Site of Naunton House Pages 99-103 Survey of London: Volume 16, St Martin-in-The-Fields I: Charing Cross. Originally published by London County Council, London, 1935". British History Online. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
4. Historic England, "Royal Bank of Scotland, Drummond's Bank (1225731)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 17 July 2017

Further reading

• Hector Bolitho; Derek Wilmot Peel (1967). The Drummonds of Charing Cross. Allen & Unwin.