[5] In the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, Coutts Crown Dependencies operates as a trading name of The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited.

Lundie opened the new business in the Strand, London, under a sign of the Three Crowns, as was customary in the days before street numbers.

The bank flourished under the lead of Thomas, who took in three partners: Sir Edmund Antrobus (1st Baronet), Edward Marjoribanks and Coutts Trotter.

[10] By the time Sir Antrobus died in 1826, he had been made a baronet, and he left a fortune estimated at £700,000 with newly-acquired estates at Amesbury (Wilts) and Rutherford (Roxburghshire).

His first wife, a servant named Susannah Starkie, gave him three daughters nicknamed "The Three Graces" who eventually married leading figures in British society: the Earl of Guilford, the Marquess of Bute and Sir Francis Burdett.

The Queen wrote to Lord Harrowby saying that it would grieve her much "if Lady Burdett-Coutts were to sacrifice her high reputation and her happiness by such an unsuitable marriage".

This letter was passed on to Lady Burdett-Coutts, who asked Lord Harrowby to reply that he had no knowledge of the subject alluded to—quite a snub to the Queen.

Clara's son Francis (known as Frank) was not, however, so easily dissuaded, and consulted his lawyers, thinking to forestall the marriage by standing on their rights.

She, however, remained determined, refusing to release Bartlett from his promise, in spite of various scandalous accusations being made against him involving another woman, and even his fathering of an illegitimate child.

In February 1881, at the age of 67, Angela Burdett-Coutts broke the terms of the will by marrying Bartlett in Christ Church, Down Street, Piccadilly.

—Vere Carpenter A recession towards the end of the 19th century, known as the Panic of 1890, forced the bank to change from a partnership to an unlimited liability company in 1892.

In 1914, Coutts took over the bank of Robarts, Lubbock & Co. in the city, obtaining a branch office and a clearing house seat in the process.

The origins of the Swiss business can be traced to 1930, when the Bank für Industrie und Unternehmungen was founded in Zurich.

This was part of the Group's strategy to reduce the number of countries it operated in, in favour of a greater focus on the United Kingdom.

Until the 20th century Coutts was a clearing bank to the nobility and landed gentry, but then became a wealth manager to a wider range of clients, including entrepreneurs, entertainers, sportsmen, professionals, executives, lottery winners, and football players.

The silk design was inspired by the traditional Chinese wallpaper brought back by Britain's first ambassador to China, Earl Macartney in 1794, and presented to Thomas Coutts, which lines the walls of the boardroom at the Strand headquarters.

[34] Coutts has been the principal sponsor of the non-commercial Royal Court Theatre,[35] and has supported the annual London Design Festival.

[36] In March 2012 Coutts was fined £8.75m for breaches of money laundering rules after "serious" and "systemic" problems in handling the affairs of "politically exposed persons", customers entrusted with a prominent public function, requiring money-laundering checks.

[37] The Financial Services Authority (FSA) fined Coutts because of an "unacceptable risk" that the bank could have been handling the proceeds of crime for a three-year period up to November 2010 after failing to properly deal with "politically exposed" customers.

[37] Following an industry-wide review in 2010, the FSA found that Coutts was not conducting robust-enough checks on such high-risk customers and was not monitoring relationships with them properly.

[37] The FSA's acting director of enforcement and financial crime, Tracey McDermott, said that "Coutts's failings were significant, widespread and unacceptable.

[37] A spokesperson for Coutts said that there was no evidence that money laundering took place as a result of its deficient controls, and said that "We recognise our systems weren't totally adequate in the past and we've taken steps to improve these".

[37] In November 2011 the Financial Services Authority (FSA) fined Coutts £6.3m for mis-selling the American International Group (AIG) Enhanced Variable Rate Fund, which invested a significant proportion of its assets in riskier asset-backed securities, between December 2003 and September 2008.

[38] The FSA required Coutts to compensate all customers who suffered a loss due to its failings in selling AIG Life Premier Bonds.

[38] During 2021 Malaysia's tainted sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, sued Coutts & Co. for $1.03 billion claiming, "negligence, breach of contract, conspiracy to defraud/injure, and/or dishonest assistance".

After submitting a subject access request in July, Farage published a 40-page internal document from the bank, which contained minutes from a meeting of the bank's Wealth Reputational Risk Committee on 17 November 2022, describing Farage as a "disingenuous grifter" who promoted "xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views", and said his "views were at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation", with "risk factors including... controversial public statements which were felt to conflict with the bank's purpose", whilst financially his account's "economic contribution is now sufficient to retain on a commercial basis”.

[48][49][50] The BBC's financial journalist, Simon Jack, had originally reported, on 4 July 2023, that the closure was for failing to meet the required minimum savings to hold a Coutts account.

[52] On 25 July, Rose admitted to a "serious error of judgement" in discussing Farage's Coutts accounts with Jack, while the NatWest board said that it retained full confidence in her.

Robert Louis Stevenson mentions Coutts in his 1886 classic novella Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as being the bank of choice for Dr Jekyll: "...and presently came back with the matter of ten pounds in gold and a cheque for the balance on Coutts's drawn payable to bearer,..." In the first episode of Michael Palin's Around the World in 80 Days, Palin visits the bank to inquire about the safeguarding and ease of replacing money while on his trip.

In Terry Pratchett's novel Dodger, the protagonist meets Angela Burdett-Coutts and is advised by his mentor to deposit his funds at Coutts.