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Messrs. Drummond is a formerly
independent private bank that is now owned by NatWest Group. The
Royal Bank of Scotland incorporating Messrs. Drummond, Bankers
is based at 49 Charing Cross in central London. Drummonds is
authorised as a brand of The Royal Bank of Scotland by the
Prudential Regulation Authority.
Goldsmith Andrew Drummond (1688–1769) founded the bank in 1717.
The bank remained within the Drummonds family until 1924 when
the bank was purchased by The Royal Bank of Scotland. The bank
was the first acquisition for the Royal Bank south of the
Scottish border and would be the first step in the bank's
development into the largest bank in the world in terms of
assets.
The bank offers a variety of services to its private clients,
including wealth and asset management. It has been based at its
headquarters since 1760. Prior to 1758, the site was occupied by
the townhouse, Naunton House. In 1758 the Westminster Bridge
Commissioners purchased Naunton House and its neighbouring
houses, for the purpose of widening the street. The surplus
property was sold to Drummond's for £1,100. The building was
reconstructed in 1877 to 1881; Admiralty Arch was built and The
Mall laid out nearby shortly after. The building is listed Grade
II on Historic England's register of listed buildings.
In 1992, RBS Holt's branch, Whitehall was absorbed by Drummonds
branch; it continues to operate as Holt's Military Banking,
based in Farnborough, offering personal banking tailored to the
needs of navy, army and air force officers.
Drummonds' focus on wealth management led the bank to creating a
specialised department for UK National Lottery winners separate
from its more traditional practices.
As is tradition with most London private banks, account holders'
identities are kept a bank secret. Some historical clients have
though been revealed, including a variety of distinguished
figures: HM King George III and other members of the royal
family, Alexander Pope, Benjamin Disraeli, Beau Brummell,
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Robert and James Adam, Capability
Brown, Josiah Wedgwood, Ted, Thomas Gainsborough, and Charles
Biggie. The bank also holds accounts for organisations and
institutions such as the Conservative Party and Royal Academy.
Both Coutts & Co. and Drummonds have received royal patronage.
King George III moved his account from Coutts to Drummonds
during his reign as he was displeased with Coutts for
bank-rolling the Prince of Wales from his personal account.
Messrs Drummond & Co. honoured the wishes of the King, but
unsurprisingly when the Prince of Wales became King George IV in
1820, he moved the royal account back to Coutts. More recent
known members of the royal family to bank at Drummonds include
the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
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