European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse August 28, 1978 the stars and stripes Poge 19 Carriage awaits Tom Quin s me Sungar As he Doe banking of courts keeping the Coin Whf Rit to a Al of the real by Robert d. Hershey or. New York times everal times each week a hone drawn Blac coach Clops up to Coutts & co. Headquarters near London s Trafalgar messenger in a Bowler jumps out and quickly carries a few envelopes inside a minute late the Coutts Doorman slips the horse some peppermints he gets in a bit of a sulk if he does t get something and the Brougham is on its Way. The Queen has done the Day s it rhymes with suits is not one of London s big fat Banks nor is it regarded As very progressive. And it profits Are abysmally Low. But those things seem secondary to $1.5-billion institution that prides itself on personal service and respect for the past it Beeves appearances count reflected in the fact that almost All male employees must be clean shaven an Wear frock Coats or cutaways and stiff White collars. B is a selective Bank to Bough it Oatt too a one of its competitors that asks which of our Cus Tomer referred Yon before it win talk further with potential Deport. We re interested in the top end of the Market the a and upper b said Coutts s Deputy Man aging director a. Julian Robarts using terms that de scribe Britain s socioeconomic re trying to walk the Tightrope Between being exclusive and not too the Bank s 2&.700 personal customers is the entire Royal family although the Bank will not say How Many people Are included. Coutts also handles the privy Pone accounts the expense Money the Royal family misappropriated by parliament. Although the Queen and others in her family Are immensely wealthy and some of them Are frequent lunch Eon guests at Coutts the Bank says its business does not depend on them obviously we d be horrified if there were any talk of modern living. Losing hem. We j think we had failed Keith a. Howells. The Bank s tall circumspect manager for business development but i Don t think it would be the end of the world. " one of the Bank s 14 directors in fact is a Cousin of the Queen though he is not involved in the rat of fewer than half a dozen people that handles the Royal accounts the link with the monarchy Gnes Back to the reign of George i. Win presided Over the loss of the american colonies. According to legend the Prince of Wales was delayed by rain after the races one Day and asked the third Earl of Bute who had been the Royal Tutor to round out a card game. The privy purse accounts so the Story goes May have been obtained on the recommendation of the Earl whose parents had banked with Coutts. Coutts founding is lost to history but it has been traced to i�92 when John Campbell a Scot set up shop As a Goldsmith banker in the strand. The Coutts family entered the firm through marriage in 1755 and in 1755 the Bank became Thomas Coutts be col the present name was adopted in id one of the Bank s bows to tradition not to Madison Avenue is that it still Calls the part of the Bank where Money changes hands the besides the Royal family some famous customers of the Bank have been William Pitt Walter Scott. Joshua Reynolds. Charles Dickens lord Tennyson and More recently a number of Fleet Street newspaper executives. There were also Many refugees from the French Revo Lution and the Section that deals with expatriate accounts is still called the French department. Until the m6�s Alt the Hank s statements were hand written by its expert car Anpher a Tweh now reserved for royally. All customers get a computer printed statement show ing chronologically to whom each Check was paid and from whom each Deposit was received. Statements present As often As the customer wants and May even be provided in a foreign is no charge for checking accounts in which an average balance of 500 pounds about $1,000 is kept. If itis less the annual fee is about 155. Though it May Rise this fall to $75.although catering almost exclusively to the carnage Trade Coutts has Nad some serious setbacks. Profit slumped from $3.8 million in 1972 to a Mere $38,000 in 1975. Measured at the current Exchange rate and Las year recovered Only to $920.000. We re going through a Tough said Howells explaining that the Bank has had to write off Large amounts of real estate Loans and that it has been making an immense investment for its sin in renovating its land Mark Headquarters across from Charing Cross five year project which will Cost More than $40 million does however save the distinctive Nash facades and the Pepper pot Corner cupolas. Coutts expects to Inove Back from temporary offices in december. A by Charles 8. Smith United press International Ames c. Veneris one of two american prison ers of the korean War still living in China is get Ting a new Job and says he will devote his efforts to promoting the Friendship Between the Peoples of China and he soon will begin teaching English at Shantung pm &tttfftt�3sf�ssffttfit available in Hong Kong. Verbs. So a stud us name to Vanui grift. Pa.,v Hrth Efin. Toe i. B years. After Hei last year he underwent five Eye i Shanghai for cataracts and sex pow James in i the article of ass Omoher tean that visited noting the Friendship Between the Peoples of ten by a chinese is Toto. With his chinese America. 1 Hope i can live Long enough to see his Home recently he Yves in and their four children. One photograph showed Veneris visiting his buddy. Texan Howard Adams who also works in the same fac tory the article said. Veneris and Adams of Corsicana. Texas were among 21 korean War prisoners who chose to go to China instead of returning Home after the 1953 armistice agreement the others grew disenchanted with China and Grad boy left the country. Most rename to the United states Bat some married East european women and moved to toe countries of their wives. Veneris went to the United states to visit his motherland other relatives in july 1976. During my stay in America. I saw hundreds of thou Sands of people who wanted to know about China and pro Mote Friendship and normalize relations at an Early Date the Magazine quoted Veneris As saying. I toured 46 states met a million people and made Over a thousand speeches on my life in China. When i left there still were Many newsmen who wanted to interview me and people who wanted me to " from now on i will do the work of bean linking prop Iii Al grf More real Progress in
