Permanent TSB's roots in Waterford have been unveiled following the launch of the bank's archive, website, and book.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe launched the archive that details the bank's development dating back to over 200 years ago during the week.
The book titled Our Banking Heritage: The Origins of Permanent TSB and the website explore the bank's history and development.
The archive showcases artifacts such as minute books, ledgers, passbooks, corporate records, and photographs dating from the early 1800s to the present day.
As well as providing an insight into Permanent TSB’s deep roots in Irish communities, these records also have a wider cultural and historical significance as records of Irish people and Irish society.
Permanent TSB and Waterford
On August 7th, 1816, Waterford Savings Bank opened its doors. It is Permanent TSB's oldest banking ancestor and one of the earliest savings banks set up in Ireland.
75 passbooks were issued on the first day and by 1834 the Bank held over £75,000 in deposits.
Waterford Savings Bank moved its headquarters to a premises on O'Connell Street in 1846. That building is now Assembly House.
It operated from here until the mid-1990s when TSB Bank closed the branch and the building was sold.
"The history of Permanent TSB is intertwined with Irish history and Irish society. The communities that we served became generations of loyal customers and our branches and offices became part the fabric of towns and cities across Ireland," Eamonn Crowley, Permanent TSB CEO, said.
The 'TSB' side of Permanent TSB's roots trace back to five independent savings banks with Waterford's being the first of the five to be established. It was followed by banks in Cork, Dublin, Monaghan and Limerick, all of which were set up between 1816 and 1820.
The 'Permanent' side of the bank dates back to 1884 when the Irish Temperance Permanent Benefit Building Society.
Permanent TSB is one of Ireland's oldest financial institutions.
In the 19th Century the purpose of "trustee savings banks" was to serve local communities by providing a place where ordinary people could save and borrow small amounts of money, with 10p being the lowest amount you could deposit.
After the famine, deposits in Irish savings banks dropped from £2.9 million in 1843 to £1.2 million in 1849 and 24 savings banks closed between 1844 and 1852.
The remaining five institutions evolved, merged, and developed until they became TSB Bank which later merged with Irish Permanent to form Permanent TSB.
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