A distinctly Scottish success story

financial quarter.

But she is more than a pretty face and pleasing manner in a

well-appointed banking hall. She is the fully-fledged teller at the

front end of public contact, as well as a symbol of all that lies behind

the scenes in this distinctive Scottish institution.

Upstairs, the managing director, 47-year-old James Laurenson, surveys

the progress of the company in less than five years of operation, during

which pre-tax profits have risen from #51,000 to #629,000 and deposits

jumped in the past year from #42.2 million to #64.6 million.

It is a success story by any standard for the company which began to

take shape only in 1983 and was, in fact, the first retail bank to be

opened in Scotland for close on 150 years.

It functions, under the chairmanship of Gordon Henry, on the basis

that small is beautiful, yet its inauguration was not a matter for

universal acceptance.

''There were plenty sceptics,'' James Laurenson recalls, ''people who

said it would be a nine-day wonder and wouldn't last, who thought we

would blow up after a couple of years and would degrade Scottish

banking.

''But we settled down to do a serious job and to enhance the

reputation of our banking. You build a bank slowly and gradually. Any

fast, explosive growth tends to sow the seeds of its own destruction.''

The whole idea of this exciting departure is said to have occurred to

two men more or less simultaneously.

Iain Noble, the man who gave his name to the foundation of Noble

Grossart, merchant bankers, was turned towards it by some happenings in

the early 1980s, when the Royal Bank of Scotland was the subject of

merger proposals.

Strongly pro-Scottish, Noble felt that, if the Royal fell into other

hands, it would be a big loss to his native land. But he did no more

about it until he met Ian Dalziel, a former banker who was Euro MP for

Edinburgh and Lothians but wanted to return to Scotland.

''There was no private bank in Scotland which compared with what was

available in England with Coutts or the Royal's own subsidiary,'' says

Mr Laurenson. ''Curiously, the Royal had never brought that private

service to Scotland.

''In Scotland, we have one of the finest financial centres in Europe,

with a breadth of service almost unparalleled. What Adam is doing is to

add another component, taking the time to provide a very personal

service.''

While Adam and Company excludes noone, and even caters for the

undergraduate with little more than a student grant to deposit, it is

clearly of more benefit to those of high income or with sizeable assets.

It coordinates the client's needs, from banking and foreign exchange

to share-dealing and pension planning. With only three branches, the

staff is necessarily of a high calibre, giving the kind of on-the-spot

information and guidance which the average bank manager would have to

seek from elsewhere.

James Laurenson came to the venture by a circuitous route. His

grandfather emigrated from Shetland to New Zealand more than 100 years

ago but his father returned to this country and became a surgeon. After

Eton and Cambridge, Mr Laurenson himself became a chartered accountant

and returned to the homeland in 1968, joining Ivory and Sime in

Edinburgh, where he was later given a partnership.

His connection with Adam and Company began at the planning stage

before he accepted the post of managing director. The two executive

directors, Ian Dalziel and Jeremy Norfolk, who had come from Citibank,

were laying foundations of staff and systems and, as Iain Noble's

think-tank perfected the concept, the starting money of #3.75 million

was raised from 17 institutions and #1.75 million from 700 individuals.

''We had hoped to raise all the money in Scotland,'' James Laurenson

recalls, ''but, in the event, we raised more than half of it. The

Scottish institutions did not exactly rush to subscribe.''

But if native caution prevailed, it was not long before confidence in

the fledgling bank was growing. To establish credibility, it had been

considered essential to show a profit in the first trading year and

budgeting was wisely honed to that end.

The subsequent story is one of clients confirming that they now regard

Adam and Company as a safe haven for their money. (The name,

incidentally, derives from the famous Scots economist, Adam Smith).

From that original base in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, Laurenson and

his team were planning expansion to Glasgow when they were approached by

Continental Trust, a small, private bank in London, owned mainly by a

French family called Schlumberger.

Unable to find suitable management, they wanted Adam to take on that

role; but the counter suggestion was a merger (gentlemanly language for

an acquisition) in which the French connection were given a stake in

Adam, without money changing hands.

Thus the Scots company secured a valuable presence in London's Pall

Mall, which led, in turn, to another link-up.

One of the original shareholders in Adam was the International

Management Group of Mark McCormack, the American who became known for

looking after the affairs of sporting megastars, dating back to Arnold

Palmer.

McCormack liked the idea of his clients dealing with a small, private

bank. While IMG remained a separate company, dealing with the public

personalities, the two bodies teamed up to form Adam IMG, to extend that

type of service to high-earning executives.

Meanwhile, Adam and Company opened their Glasgow branch, in West

George Street, and the total number of clients reached 2000, holding

roughly 4000 accounts. They are looked after by a staff of 70 in

Edinburgh, 15 in London and five in Glasgow.

While there are no plans for a large network of branches, the prospect

of 1992 does suggest a natural move to Europe, especially with a French

connection already established. On the other hand, they may well use

their skills to bring business from the continent to Scotland, which is

so highly regarded in financial circles these days.

James Laurenson, who is also chairman of Daniel Stewart's and

Melville, manages to ski from time to time. He also takes an interest in

the sporting activities of his Glasgow manager, Sandy Dudgeon, the

popular National Hunt jockey who has not only ridden the famous Peaty

Sandy but has the distinction of completing the course in the Grand

National.

That ability to clear the hurdles of the steeplechase may prove as

much a symbol of Adam's success as the smiling face of the lady who

greets you in the reception area of Scotland's most prestigious bank.