Belfast Banking Company

The Belfast Banking Co. was formed with 337 shareholders on 2 July 1827, by a merger of the then two remaining private banks in Belfast, Batt’s (The Belfast Bank, in business since 1808) and Tennant’s (The Commercial Bank). It was organised on similar lines to the Northern Banking Co. and commenced business on 1 August 1827. In 1917 its share capital was sold to the London Joint City and Midland Bank Ltd.

The Belfast Banking Co. remained mostly an “Ulster” bank, and had relatively few branches outside the Province, not opening an office in Dublin until 1892. In 1923 the bank sold to the Royal Bank of Ireland the 20 branches which it had in the newly-formed Irish Free State. Thus the bank became the only one of the Irish Joint Stock banks to operate solely in Northern Ireland. A new series of banknotes was produced in 1922 for issue in Northern Ireland only. It appears that Belfast Banking Co. notes were always printed on both sides.

In 1965 The Northern Bank was taken over by the Midland Bank, which already owned the Belfast Bank. The Belfast was then merged into the Northern in 1970.

http://www.irishpapermoney.com/old/bbc/bbco2.html