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Original Text (Annotation: SAW022605 / 1391191)
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North of Scotland Bank corner of Church St/Queensgate.
Midland Bank who acquired Clydesdale Bank in 1920 also acquired the North of Scotland Bank in 1923 but the Aberdeen management had fiercely resisted any attempt to merge with Clydesdale. However, the changed competitive market after the Second World War meant that the two banks could not remain separate and in 1950 they were amalgamated to become the Clydesdale and North of Scotland Bank (soon shortened to Clydesdale Bank). Clydesdale had 189 branches and the North of Scotland 161, covering 221 towns between them. Of the eight Scottish banks, Clydesdale had been the third largest by deposits, the North being the smallest. The merged bank became Scotland's largest in terms of deposits, advances and branches. However, by 1969, mergers elsewhere had reduced the number of Scottish banks to three with Clydesdale now being the smallest. Midland needed to rationalise the enlarged Clydesdale but faced resistance. Midland also needed additional capital and its solution to both challenges was to sell Clydesdale (along with Midland's Irish subsidiaries) to National Bank of Australia in 1987. '