Bank of Wales

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 started its life on St Mary Street, but in 1989 moved to Kingsway in a brand new landmark building opposite Cardiff Castle, now inhabited by the Welsh Development Agency. Staff at the time included David Williams, Ken Cassidy, Charles Bithell, Sheila Fehrs, Barbara Niblett, Sandra Spray, Jim Claughan, David Buttwell, Alan Thrasher, Paul Williams, John Kirpatrick, Roger Coombes, John Lewis, Karen Ling, Kay Leigh, Pat Hill, Gary Speirs, Spiro Vella, Val Groves, Andrew Pearce and Helen Wheten.

The bank was taken over by the Bank of Scotland in 1986 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]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6. 
  2. ↑ "Bring back the Bank of Wales". Western Mail. 21 February 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2010. 

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.