Royal Bank of Scotland : Adam & Company – Understanding our brands

Adam & Company was founded in 1983 in Edinburgh by a group of influential business people including Sir Iain Noble, the 3rd Baronet of Ardkinglas and Eilean Iarmain.

The bank aimed to provide high-quality Scottish-based banking and investment management services for wealthy clients, and opened its first branch in Edinburgh's Charlotte Square on 29th May 1984.

This was the first retail bank set up in Scotland since 1844 and was immediately successful, building strong personal relationships with clients and producing detailed computer-generated account statements in the 1980s.

Today, the bank continues to offer high quality, Scottish-based investment management, private banking and financial planning to high-net worth clients. It is the first bank-owned investment manager ever to win an investment performance award: the Best Defensive Portfolio at the PAM (Private Asset Management) Awards in 2014.

Did you know?

• The name Adam & Company derives from the prominent 18th Century Scottish economist, Adam Smith, and it is testament to the bank's strong Scottish heritage. Smith revolutionised economic theory in 1776 with the publication of 'An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations' and Edinburgh soon became known as the birthplace of Scottish enlightenment.
• In 1986, the bank gained a branch in London, when they acquired Continental Trust (the private office of a wealthy European family). The following year another branch opened in Glasgow and by 1989 the brand employed more than 100 people, with £96 million in deposits and £40 million advances.

• In 1993, Adam and Company was acquired by RBS. The brand retained its own identity and operated independently with a separate Board of Directors until 2000 when Adam & Company was placed in the RBS Wealth Management division, alongside Coutts.

History of logo:

Scottish philosopher Adam Smith is the namesake behind Adam & Company, and his bust is used on the private bank's logo.