Scottish financial services innovations through the ages
From an article about the Scottish Financial Enterprise Innovators 2006 awards (link)
Ten Scottish financial services innovations through the ages
1694 – Bank of England founded by Scotsman William Paterson
1728 – Royal Bank of Scotland invents the overdraft
1750 – British Linen Bank – now part of HBOS – develops the first retail bank branch network
1810 – The first mutual savings bank was invented by Scotsman Reverend Henry Duncan
1873 – Launch of collective investment vehicles which played a major role in financing growth of US economy
1946 – National Bank of Scotland – now part of RBS – develops the world’s first mobile bank
1985 – Direct Line – now part of RBS – is the first UK insurance company to use the telephone as its main channel of communication
1990 – RBS creates the first cross-border European banking service
1997 – RBS is the first British bank to announce a fully fledged internet banking service
2000 – Intelligent Finance – part of HBOS – is launched, pioneering the use of offset banking