Sir William Whyte

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1878–1945) was a 20th-century Scottish banker who served as President of the Institute of Bankers in Scotland from 1940 to 1942. He was one of the instigators of the

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...

's 20th century expansion programme.

Life

He was born in

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are connect ...

on 14 August 1878. In September 1893 he was apprenticed as a banker at the

. He later transferred to the

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

branch before becoming the accountant at the

Saltcoats Saltcoats ( gd, Baile an t-Salainn) is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages al ...

branch. In February 1899 he made an important transfer the bank's

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

branch. The London branch was often the chosen area for future senior staff. Staying at the London branch he became Accountant in 1918 and became Joint Manager in 1921. He became sole Manager in January 1924. In February 1929 he returned to Scotland as Deputy General Manager at the Royal Bank's Headquarters at

Dundas House Dundas House is a Neoclassical building in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at 36 St Andrew Square, in the city's first New Town. The building was completed in 1774 as a private town house for Sir Lawrence Dundas by the architect Sir Willia ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He was involved in the expansion of the bank: acquiring

Williams Deacon's Bank Williams Deacon's Bank was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1930. It had a large network of branches in the north-west of England. In 1970, it was integrated with Glyn, Mills & Co. and The National Bank (which were part of the same gro ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and the London Western branch of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

. In September 1933, following the sudden death of

Alexander Kemp Wright Sir Alexander Kemp Wright KBE DL LLD (1859–1933) was a Scottish banker mainly associated with the Royal Bank of Scotland but with multiple banking roles. He founded the National Savings Movement. Life He was born in Methven in Perthshi ...

, Whyte became General Manager and Chief Cashier of the bank. In 1934 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fun ...

George James Lidstone George James Lidstone FIA FSA FRSE (1870-1952) was a British actuary who made several contributions to the field of statistics. He is known for Lidstone smoothing and Lidstone series. He served as President of the Faculty of Actuaries from 1924 ...

John Brown Clark John Brown Clark or Clarke CBE LLD FRSE (30 April 1861 – 19 July 1947) was a Scottish mathematician. He was headmaster of George Heriot’s School from 1908 to 1926. He served as Vice President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1931–34. Li ...

, and Sir

John Erskine, Lord Erskine John Francis Ashley Erskine, Lord Erskine GCSI, GCIE (12 April 1895 – 3 May 1953) was a British soldier, Conservative Party politician and administrator who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Weston-super-Mare and Brighton. Erskine also ...

. He was knighted by King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

in 1943. He steered the bank through the turbulent 1930s and resumed the acquisition programme, obtaining the merchant bank Glyn, Mills & Co. in 1939 (who were allowed to trade under their own name until 1969).The Times: obituaries, 22 April 1945 In January 1944 he was placed on the Board of the Bank and stood down as Manager. He died on 21 April 1945.

Family

He was married with two daughters.

Other Positions of Note

*Director of the

Scottish Widows Scottish Widows is a life insurance and pensions company located in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. Its product range includes life assurance and pensions. The company has been providing financial services to the ...

Fund *President of the Earl Haig Fund *Member of Scottish Economic Committee *Advisor to the Regional Commissioner for Scotland *Member of Scottish Council on Industry *Honorary Treasurer of the Scottish Travel Association

References

1878 births 1945 deaths People from Perth and Kinross Scottish bankers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish businesspeople {{Scotland-business-bio-stub