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CEO visits TSB’s Dumfriesshire roots to honour bank’s founder
“Reinstating the virtuous circle”
Paul Pester, CEO of TSB Bank, will be in Dumfries tomorrow (Wednesday 17 May) to deliver a memorial lecture in honour of Reverend Henry Duncan, founder of the first Trustee Savings Bank in 1810.
TSB as we know it today is a “new” bank with a mission to bring more competition to UK banking – and ultimately make banking better for all UK consumers. The Bank has an absolute belief that banks should be there to serve the local communities in which they operate – not the other way around.
But this approach to banking isn’t new – the founder of the original Trustees Savings Bank, Reverend Henry Duncan, did exactly this in 1810 in Ruthwell in Dumfriesshire when he established the world’s first self-supporting savings bank. The approach to banking flourished and led to thousands of savings banks being established – not only here in the UK but across the world.
It is Henry Duncan’s original vision for banking that has guided how TSB has been established – and how TSB is trying to bring local banking back to Britain.
Paul Pester, TSB’s Chief Executive Officer, says: “The TSB movement was originally created in 1810 when the Reverend Henry Duncan established the world’s first Trustee Savings Bank in Ruthwell, Scotland. Its sole purpose then was to serve the local people in the community.
“This is exactly what we set out to do when we launched TSB back onto high streets right across Britain in 2013 – with a mission to bring more competition to UK banking and ultimately make banking better for all UK consumers.
“Three and a half years on, we’ve shown that a bank focused on serving local communities can really thrive. We now have over five million customers and I’m delighted that TSB is Britain’s most recommended high street bank.
“I’m looking forward to being in Dumfries on Wednesday to deliver the memorial lecture, recognising the inspiration Reverend Henry Duncan continues to provide to TSB today.”
The memorial lecture, entitled ‘Reinstating the virtuous circle’, forms part of the Elizabeth Crichton Founder’s Day and Henry Duncan Memorial Lunch. This is hosted by the Crichton Foundation and will be held at Easterbook Hall on the Crichton university campus.
Notes to editors
About TSB
TSB was built to bring more competition to UK banking and ultimately make banking better for all UK consumers. TSB only serves local customers and local businesses, to help fuel local economies, because communities thriving across Britain is a good thing for all of us.
We have a simple, straightforward and transparent banking model and make clear on our website how we operate and make money. We offer the products and services people tell us they want, with none of the funny stuff people normally associate with traditional banks.
Our five million customers appear to notice: TSB is Britain’s most recommended high street bank and was recently identified as one of the top 10 big companies to work for.
For further information about TSB Bank plc, please visit our website.
About the Crichton Foundation
The Crichton Foundation is a charity which supports a diverse Crichton Campus and innovative centre for learning and enterprise in Dumfries and Galloway. Through various fundraising efforts the Foundation helps to widen access to higher and further education; assists the academic institutions to develop their academic programmes and facilities; preserves and regenerates the heritage of the Crichton estate as a public asset; and raises awareness of the importance of the Crichton University Campus for the prosperity of the local community.
For further information about the Crichton Foundation, please visit their website.
About the Crichton Campus
In 1829 Elizabeth Crichton sought to use the inheritance left to her by her late husband, Dr James Crichton, to establish a university in Dumfries. The idea had already been discussed by Reverend Henry Duncan, who later became an adviser to Elizabeth, in his newspaper, ‘The Dumfries and Galloway Courier’ in 1814 where he published articles and letters supporting a petition to have St Andrews university moved to Dumfries.
Despite initial support for the proposal, Elizabeth Crichton and Reverend Henry Duncan’s idea did not come to fruition despite over 10 years worth of effort on their part.
The idea of a university in Dumfries resurfaced in the mid-nineteen nineties, and opened in 1999. The Crichton Campus is located on the outskirts of Dumfries, South West Scotland. Dumfries and Galloway College, University of Glasgow, University of West of Scotland, Open University, Crichton Carbon Centre and Scotland’s Rural College all have a presence on the Crichton Campus.
