Alexander Kemp Wright
Sir Alexander Kemp Wright KBE DL (1859–1933) was a Scottish banker best known for his work with the Royal Bank of Scotland and for helping found the National Savings Movement.
Early life
He was born in Methven, Perthshire, the fifth child of Isabella Kemp and Andrew Wright, a shoemaker. He grew up in Methven, went to Perth Academy, and studied Scots Law at the University of Edinburgh.
Banking career
Wright joined the Perth branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1874 and moved to the bank’s head office in Edinburgh in 1878. In 1891 he became head of the bank’s law department. He later became Secretary of the Bank, a role he began in 1907. In 1916 he helped set up the Scottish Savings Committee.
In 1917 Wright became General Manager. He worked with the government during World War I to manage bank staff’s military calls and to establish the government’s War Savings initiative, run through Post Office Savings Banks. In 1918 he began expanding the Royal Bank of Scotland into England, for which he was awarded the CBE in 1922.
Expansion and honors
Under his leadership, the bank bought Drummonds Bank in London in 1924 as part of its English expansion. He served on important banking committees, including the Montagu Committee (1923) and the Lubbock Committee (1925). Wright was knighted in 1926 as a Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE). In 1929–1930 the bank further expanded by taking over Williams Deacon’s Bank in Manchester to support the London presence at Burlington Gardens.
Later life and death
In 1931 Wright became Chairman of the Scottish Savings Committee and received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Edinburgh. He died suddenly in Edinburgh on 21 September 1933 while attending a funeral service. He is buried in Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh. His banking role was taken over by William Whyte.
Family
He married Josephine Campbell Smith in 1895. They had two sons and three daughters; Josephine died in 1912.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 02:42 (CET).