It paid interest on both current and business accounts, and provided clients with detailed computer-coded account statements. From the outset, it laid emphasis on the importance of developing strong personal relationships with its clients and tailoring its facilities to meet their individual needs. It was an immediate success, thriving in the economic and political climate of the 1980s. The bank opened its doors for the first time at 22 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, in 1984. In honour of its strong Scottish origins, the new bank was named after the great Scots monetarist Adam Smith. The bank’s prospectus described the type of client it sought to serve, explaining that ‘many professional people preoccupied with the responsibility of looking after other people’s affairs cannot spare enough time to look after the minutiae of their own.a senior executive in industry working long hours and travelling extensively cannot give the attention to his own personal matters which they merit’.
It aimed to provide high-quality Scottish-based banking and investment management services for wealthy clients.
Adam & Company was the first new retail bank to be established in Scotland since 1844, and was the brainchild of Sir Iain Noble.
