Woman of Note: Crosbie Makes Banking History

30 November 2015

Debbie Crosbie signs up for historic Clydesdale £20 note

Clydesdale Bank is launching the first Scottish banknote to be signed by a woman. The new run of the £20 notes signed by Chief Operating Officer Debbie Crosbie will go into circulation from November 2015.

The run of 30 million notes, worth £600 million, feature the iconic images of the historic mill house at New Lanark on one side and Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, on the other.

“I'm proud to be the first woman to sign a Scottish banknote and it’s particularly meaningful to be launching it at New Lanark, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been featured on Clydesdale Bank's £20 banknote since 2009.

“New Lanark played an important part of Scotland’s industrial and social history. It serves as an enduring tribute to the men and women who created this world-leading industrial mill and its ground-breaking commitment to workers' welfare, education and skills.

“Throughout history, women have also played an important role in banking and there's never been more opportunity than there is now for women to lead and drive the changing shape of banking and financial services.

"Clydesdale Bank has long recognised the important role of women in banking and our commitment to fairness and equality has helped provide strong growth opportunities for talented women right across our business. I feel personally honoured to be the first woman to sign a Scottish bank note and hope that it helps serve as recognition of the many ground-breaking achievements of women across banking and the wider Scottish economy.”

With a career spanning more than 20 years in financial services, Crosbie joined Clydesdale Bank in 1997 and has been an Executive Director since May 2014. In February 2015, Crosbie was appointed Acting Chief Executive of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Clydesdale Bank is the largest issuer by volume of notes in Scotland. It introduces around £400 million of new notes every year and earlier this year reached the milestone of having more than £2bn worth of notes in circulation on a single day.

Clydesdale Bank introduced the first fully polymer bank note to Great Britain earlier this year. The £5 note entered circulation in March.