In June 2006, the HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, allowing the bank's structure to be simplified.

During the 1690s, public finances and economic prospects of the country were largely uncertain, with credit proving difficult to gain and cash being in relative short supply.

[5] During its early days of operation, the Bank of Scotland acted as a means of public financial support during tough economic situations.

This followed a small-scale service operated jointly with the Nottingham Building Society for two years but developed by the Bank of Scotland.

The new HOBS service enabled customers to access their accounts directly on a television screen, using the Prestel telephone network.

The move was met with criticism from civil rights groups in the UK, owing to Robertson's controversial views on homosexuality.

The bank was forced to cancel the deal when Robertson described Scotland as a "dark land overrun by homosexuals".

[22] In the late 1990s, the UK financial sector market underwent a period of consolidation on a large scale.

A simple and basic concept, the system allowed customers to only access account information, but it has been credited since for paving the way for the advancement and increased usage of mobile banking.

The Bank of Scotland was the first European bank to issue paper currency redeemable for cash on demand (which was an extremely useful facility given the poor state of the Scottish coinage at the end of the 17th century) on a sustainable basis after the earlier failed attempt of the Swedish Stockholms Banco in 1661–64.

Up until the middle of the 19th century, privately owned banks in Great Britain and Ireland were permitted to issue their own banknotes, and money issued by provincial Scottish,[33] English, Welsh and Irish banking companies circulated freely as a means of payment.

The design was the first to commemorate the contribution of an influential person from Scotland, the suffragette and medical pioneer, Dr Flora Murray.

[35] In 1826, there was outrage in Scotland at the attempt of the United Kingdom Parliament to prevent the production of banknotes of less than five pounds face value.

Sir Walter Scott wrote a series of letters to the Edinburgh Weekly Journal under the pseudonym "Malachi Malagrowther", which provoked such a response that the government was forced to relent and allow the Scottish banks to continue printing £1 notes.

Each denomination features Sir Walter Scott on the front, and on the back are representations of industries that Scotland excels in: These notes are no longer in circulation.

Bank of Scotland began issuing a new series of banknotes in the Autumn of 2007, which feature the common theme of Scottish bridges.

On 1 March 2018 the Bank of Scotland decided to withdraw all of its paper £5 and £10 notes, and fully replace them with its polymer equivalents (see below).

The main theme of the bridges of Scotland are kept for this series, but have been redesigned to incorporate additional design features.

The portrait of Sir Walter Scott by Henry Raeburn is the same as the 2007 issues, but have been shifted from the centre to the right side of the notes.