Quick Stats

Type – Subsidiary
Industry – Finance and Insurance
Founded – 1838
Headquarters – St Vincent Place, Glasgow, Scotland
Key people – Sir Malcolm Williamson Chairman,David Thorburn Chief Operating Officer,Lynne Peacock CEO
Products – Financial Services
Revenue – £17, 500 million (2007)
Operating income – £194 million (pre annual 2008)
Net income – £139 million (pre annual 2008)
Employees – c 4, 035 (2008)
Parent – National Australia Bank Group
Website – cbonline.co.uk

Brief history

The Clydesdale Bank was founded in Glasgow in 1838. The Clydesdale later expanded throughout Scotland, and later became the first Scottish bank to open branches in the north of England. In 1919 the Midland Bank acquired the Clydesdale Bank. In 1950 the Midland Bank merged the Clydesdale with the North of Scotland Bank which it acquired in 1926.

The Midland Bank later sold its UK subsidiaries, including the Clydesdale Bank, to NAB in 1987. The bank became part of NAB’s UK and Irish subsidiaries including Northern Bank in Northern Ireland; National Irish Bank in Ireland. In 1990 the Yorkshire Bank also became part of the group.

In the 1970s the Clydesdale Bank became a pioneer in the use of automated banking, including the widespread introduction of “AutoBank” ATMs and keypads at branch counters. A new corporate identity (with a new “CB” logo and a mustard-yellow colour scheme) was also introduced.

In 2001, the NAB Group transferred the assets and liabilities of the Yorkshire Bank to the Clydesdale Bank as part of a reorganisation of its British businesses by amalgamating two banking licences into one. The National Australia Group Europe Act 2001 was a private Act of Parliament passed to facilitate the transfer. Yorkshire Bank is now a trading name of the Clydesdale Bank in England.

In 2005 NAB sold Northern Bank and National Irish Bank to the Danish Danske Bank.

In July 2007 Clydesdale Bank became the main sponsor of the Scottish Premier League in an £8 million four-year agreement.