When Clydesdale Bank issues an initial public offering (IPO) in London in early February to raise some £2bn ($3.01bn) for its parent, the management will run their own ship for the first time in close to a hundred years.
The venerable Scottish institution – founded in Glasgow in 1838 – will pay back most of the money to its former parent – the National Australia Bank (NAB), who had owned it since 1987 – and then stand independent. It will join the ranks of UK challenger banks in its regional strongholds of Scotland and Yorkshire, where it owns the Yorkshire Bank. Prior to NAB, Clydesdale had been part of Midland Bank since 1920.
