Coutts

Company Profile

With a history spanning more than 300 years, making it the eighth oldest bank in the world, Coutts views itself as ‘more than a bank’. 

Counting members of the royal family as clients, including the late Queen Elizabeth II and now King Charles III, its traditional client base of landowners, hereditary wealth, entrepreneurs and senior executives has evolved to include sportspeople, celebrities, e-gamers, YouTubers and social media influencers.   

‘The Queen’s Bank’ now has 14 offices across the UK and offers private banking, commercial banking and wealth management solutions to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families. 

History

The bank that would become Coutts was founded in 1692 by John Campbell, who as well as a goldsmith offered a banking service. The name Coutts first appeared in the title of the bank in 1755, when James Coutts, a Scottish banker, was taken into the partnership by George Campbell – John Campell’s son. When John Campbell died in 1760, James Coutts’ brother joined the bank, which became known as James & Thomas Coutts.

Thomas Coutts’ estate and a 50 per cent share in the bank passed to his second wife, Harriot, when he died in 1822, and the business assumed the name Coutts & Co. In 1837, Angela Burdett – one of Thomas Coutts’ grandchildren – inherited the interest in a trust that included the half-share in the bank. 

Coutts became an unlimited liability company in 1892, and in 1919 it amalgamated with the National Provincial & Union Bank of England. In 1961 Coutts expanded outside London, opening a branch in Eton, and two years later Coutts became the first British bank to use a fully computerised accounting system.

When Westminster Bank and the National Provincial merged in January 1969, Coutts became part of NatWest Group.

In 1987, Coutts established an international presence with an office in Geneva. In October 1990, Coutts and NatWest merged their existing subsidiaries (which included Handelsbank) to create the Coutts Group. The acquisition of the NatWest Group in 2000 established Coutts as the private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland.

In 2015, Coutts announced the sale of its Swiss bank in line with an increased focus on the UK market, and in July 2021, Coutts announced it had become a Certified B Corporation (B Corp), making it the largest private bank and wealth manager in the UK to achieve this status. 

Senior leadership

Chairman: Lord Remnant, CBE

Chief Executive: Mohammad Kamal Syed (interim)

Non-Executive Directors: Mark Lund, Sharmila Nebhrajani, Linda Urquhart OBE FRSE

Private client services

Coutts’ team of private bankers and wealth managers operate across jurisdictions to address clients’ needs in terms of financial planning, investments and protection, but also around philanthropy and positive impact.

The varied team of advisers – estate planners, trust specialists and portfolio managers, as well as those well-versed in family offices and managing offshore and international clients’ complex needs – provide a wide range of personalised solutions which are further strengthened by its digital banking platform.

Wealth management

Coutts’ advisers aim to understand every aspect of their clients’ wealth, legal circumstances and risk appetite, as well as their lifestyle, needs and objectives. Clear and tailored recommendations – from investments to retirement planning and complex tax structuring – are designed to support clients in realising their short- and long-term goals. 

Investment services include:

• Discretionary investments: managed investment portfolios across assets including bonds, active and passive funds, direct equities and alternatives
• Advised investments: access to support from a specialist investment adviser and Coutts’ in-house team of researchers and analysts, allowing clients to make final investment decisions
• Investment structuring: pensions, ISAs, and onshore and offshore bonds
• Securities dealing and exchange services: personal securities dealing service catering for active traders to first-time investors, and trading capabilities for global currency trading and hedging requirements
• Alternative investments: for experienced investors with a higher appetite for risk, the Coutts Investment Club is a non-advised and introduction-only service to connect investors with private companies and direct investment opportunities

Wealth planning services include:

• Intergenerational wealth transfer: the Coutts Institute aids clients in passing on their wealth in the best way, developing estate and succession planning strategies for family businesses, including next-generation education and planning, philanthropic strategy, as well as wealth structuring and trusts
• Specialist asset financing: Coutts’ asset finance team has extensive experience in funding prestige assets such as yachts, aircraft, and collector or classic cars
• Family offices: Coutts Family Office serves domestic and international ultra-high-net-worth families, fitting in with their other advisers or being their sole provider of, among other things, investment, banking, asset management, liquidity and philanthropy advice
• Protection: including trusts and structures for non-UK domiciled individuals living in the UK

Private banking 

Coutts offers expertise across a range of financial solutions – from banking and deposits to borrowing and protection – as well as investment-backed lending.

Commercial banking 

Borrowing facilities and tailored finance (including a variety of off-sheet and specialist finance and financing trade facilities) aim to meet the complex lending requirements of companies.

Locations

Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Guildford, Hampshire, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Reading, Sheffield, Tunbridge Wells