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Smith's Bank
Banking partnerships in London and provinces (1658–1918) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Smith's Bank was a series of English banking partnerships in London and the provinces, all controlled by the Smith family that operated between 1658 and 1918. Although Smith's Bank was never a single entity, the first bank was established in Nottingham by Thomas Smith; often dated to 1658, it is believed to be the first bank to be formed outside London.
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Smith's grandson, Abel Smith II, substantially increased the scale of the enterprise, opening banks in Lincoln and Hull and, most importantly, the London firm of Smith & Payne. Other banks were later opened or acquired in the east midlands area.[2]
The bank lost its direction in the late nineteenth century and its solution was to merge with the Union Bank of London in 1902, forming the Union of London & Smith's Bank. This in turn was acquired by the National Provincial Bank in 1918,[2] which merged into today's National Westminster Bank in 1970.