The Bank of Wales (in Welsh: Banc Cymru) was a bank based in Cardiff, Wales, founded by Sir Julian Hodge in 1971. The company provided commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses in Wales.[1]
From the outset Sir Julian Hodge wanted the company to be called the Bank of Wales, but the compromise title Commercial Bank of Wales (Welsh: Banc Masnachol Cymru) was adopted following objections from the Registrar of Companies and the Bank of England, who claimed that the proposed name would imply a central bank.[1] The company was eventually officially renamed Bank of Wales in December 1986. By the year 2000 it had seven regional offices and assets of over £460 million.[1]
The bank was taken over by the Bank of Scotland in 1988 and ceased trading under the Welsh brand in 2002.[1] In 2009, Geraint Talfan Davies, chairman of the Institute of Welsh Affairs, said that the banking crisis showed the need for the revival of the brand.[2]