Greenock Banking Co

Greenock Banking Co (1785-1843) was a bank connected with the history of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Brief history

This private bank was established in 1785 as Greenock's first bank. The bank had four partners: James Dunlop, Andrew Houston, James McDowall and James Gammell, all of whom were merchants or landowners. The bank initially traded as Dunlop, Houston, Gammell & Co, but was also known as Greenock Banking Co. It established branches in Glasgow (by 1793), Port Glasgow (by 1825) and Rothesay (by 1825).

The outbreak of war with France in 1793 caused difficulties for banks. In addition, the coal interests of James Dunlop of Garnkirk, who was both a partner in and a debtor to Greenock Banking Co, failed. The bank survived the ensuing crisis but from 1802 it faced competition from other local banks and was never very successful. It was acquired by Western Bank of Scotland in 1843.

Summary of our archive holdings

Our archival records of Greenock Banking Co have the reference code GB.

For help understanding words used here, check our glossary of banking record types (PDF 68 KB).

transaction day book 1786
state books re monthly financial abstracts 1813-28
specimen banknote n.d.