 Described as "a political economist of an advanced type", his knowledge of banking was considerable.He was an extraordinary director of The Royal Bank of Scotland from 1821 until his death in 1842, and made his presence felt in many matters of importance in Scotland at that time.He was part of the abortive scheme to raise a joint-stock bank in Glasgow around 1793, he agitated for the retention of the Scottish one pound note in 1826 (appearing before the House of Commons Committee on Promissory notes in Scotland and Ireland), and was also active in opposing the changes to factory conditions in 1833.