The Bank of Vancouver was a short-lived Canadian chartered bank established in Vancouver, B.C., on July 30, 1910, before going out of business about four and a half years later later on Dec. 14, 1914. The Bank of Vancouver was one of three B.C. banks that sprang up in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The others were the Macdonald and Company Bank (1858-64), which went out of business after a robbery, and the first Bank of British Columbia (1862-1901), which was taken over by the Bank of Commerce. In 1907, prominent B.C. businessman Robert Purves McLennan felt Canada’s central banks were inadequately supporting the province’s industry and commerce. He, along with other businessmen, promoted the Chartered Bank of British Columbia. Continue reading →
No $50 or $100 notes issued by the Bank of Vancouver, which operated for fewer than five years in the early 1900s, are believed to exist aside from proofs. (Photo by Bank of Canada Museum)
