Norman led the bank during the toughest period in modern British economic history and was noted for his somewhat raffish character and arty appearance.

A very influential figure, Norman, according to The Wall Street Journal, was referred to as "the currency dictator of Europe", a fact which he himself admitted to, before the Court of the Bank on 21 March 1930.

Montagu's great-nephew David Norman has also led a successful City career and is a noted benefactor of the arts.

[6] In 1931, at the height of the Great Depression, Norman commented, "Unless dramatic measures are taken to save it, the capitalist system throughout the civilized world will be wrecked within a year";[7][8] he borrowed $250 million in an attempt to stave off speculative attacks upon the pound.

[9] Later that year, however, the United Kingdom was forced to permanently abandon the gold standard after the publication of the May Report on the UK's budget deficit provoked a further financial crisis.

While in the past Norman's role in the transferring of Czech gold to the Nazi regime in March 1939 was uncertain, careful investigation by historian David Blaazer into the Bank of England's internal memos has established that Norman knowingly authorized the transfer of Czech gold from Czechoslovakia's No.

In autumn 1939, two months after the outbreak of World War II, Norman again supported transfers of Czech gold to Hitler's Germany.

[16] On 2 November 1933, Norman married Priscilla Cecilia Maria Reyntiens, London councillor and granddaughter of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon.

Norman worked with Walter Knight Shirley and Ernest Gimson to modernise the house and redecorate it in the Arts and Crafts style.