The Earl of Home Former Chairman, Coutts & Co

Interviewed by Vincent Abrams

You were Chairman of Coutts between 1999 and 2017. What attracted you to the company? What has changed over that time?

Anyone who knew anything about banks in the 1990s knew that Coutts had a supreme brand name.

I had contact with Coutts before because I had some clients in my then bank that also banked at Coutts and had been greatly impressed.

As I arrived, Coutts were embarking on “segmentation”, grouping the clients into categories depending on their time of life, profession etc.

and over the years these groupings have been refned. In addition, Coutts has expanded both domestically and internationally out of all recognition.

For instance, in 1999 we had only a handful of people in Singapore and Hong Kong; now there are over 200 in each centre.

How did you balance being Chairman of Coutts with your other roles?

Since I retired as a Trustee of the Grosvenor Estate, it had been easier to organise my workload, as Grosvenor was quite time-consuming.

The problem now revolves round the timetable of the House of Lords business and more particularly when votes are likely for business is often set weeks ahead whereas one doesn’t know what the House of Lords programme is until 2 weeks before and doesn’t know the timing of votes until the last minute

My travel has reduced considerably since retiring from Grosvenor, for Grosvenor had properties in Canada, the USA and Australia where Coutts do not have offces but which I visited regularly as Chairman of the Grosvenor Group. Overseas visits are mostly to the Middle and Far East and Switzerland.

What has been the most rewarding time of your life?

The most rewarding time was naturally my private life with my wife and children.

As far as my business is concerned, participating in Morgan Grenfell’s expansion in the 70s and 80s was fascinating and very satisfactory once businesses in the Middle and Far East had been established.

Were you in the media spotlight as a child when your father was Prime Minister?

My sisters and I were reported on a certain amount by the tabloid press when my father was in Government but the press was not as intrusive in those days as they are today and mobile phones didn’t exist.

Coutts is a venerable name in banking. When did it all start?

Coutts was founded in 1692 but only came to prominence when the Bank acquired the Royal Family as clients in 1760.

Coutts is known across the world. Why is this?

There was a lot of publicity, particularly in the Far East, when RBS bought a stake in the Bank of China and it was thought that it would help the business, particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore but also worldwide if the two names were linked.

Were it not for the world-banking crisis, it was probably the right decision. We believe that in the current climate, it is appro- private to bring the names together as well as the businesses, which has resulted in a much better sense of family and common purpose.

Does Coutts position itself as a wealth manager rather than a private bank?

For many years Coutts has had a good asset management section but going back in history, clients usually had assets run by friends, who were stockbrokers.

That is changing as there are few stockbrokers now and we want to demonstrate capabilities in asset management. Nevertheless, banking is the core of the business but I understand they now intend to grow and develop the asset management side as well.

You have been a career banker for all of your working life. What have been the highlights?

For years I was involved in project fnance internationally and bringing the fnancing of a complicated project to fruition was immensely satisfying.

An Aluminium Smelter in Canada, a hospital in Dubai and aircraft for Oman were but three examples. To fnance such projects, however, had to be a team effort and it was great to be part of or leading a team.

Do you think London will continue to be an attractive fnancial centre?

London has a lot of advantages over other centres. It is everybody’s second home.

Most people’s second language is English so overseas banks and clients are more comfortable here than in countries where English is not the lingua franca.

Coutts and Co is a private bank and wealth manager, founded in 1692. It is the seventh oldest bank in the world and its international arm was sold to Union Bancaire Privée in March 2015.

It has been owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) since 2000, when RBS purchased its parent, NatWest.

Coutts formed part of RBS’s private banking division. During its time with RBS, it acquired Zürich-based Bank von Ernst & Cie and in 2008, Coutts Bank von Ernst and other Coutts International subsidiaries became RBS Coutts Bank.

These traded as RBS Coutts International to align them with the parent RBS Group until 2011, when RBS Coutts was renamed Coutts & Co. Limited.

Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home, KT, CVO, CBE is a British businessman and Conservative politician.