The building at number 26 Tay Street, built in 1874 to a design by Andrew Heiton Jnr, is now occupied by the Capital Asset, a Wetherspoon pub. Formerly it was the Trustee Savings Bank.
The presence of the City of Perth Coat of Arms on the wall outside is a reminder of the local nature of the early bank, before various amalgamations resulted in it becoming part of a nationwide organisation.
Trustee Saving Banks were set up on democratic and philanthropic principles and overseen by trustees appointed from the locality. Due to a number of bank failures, after 1871 Trustee Savings Banks were regulated by the Savings Bank Act. The structure of the Trustee Savings Banks was primarily designed to safeguard domestic depositors, these safeguards restricted their activities.
In 1926 at the suggestion of W A Barclay of the Perth Saving Bank, cheques were introduced. There followed an increasing number of initiatives which changed the character of the bank until it was privatised in 1986.
