In 1874 a city public bank was opened in a stone two-story building on Nizhne-Pokrovskaya Street. The first director of the bank was a Polotsk merchant, a member of the city council, Ludwig Karlovich Teikhman. According to the provision of 1862 such banks were created under the city councils and under their direct supervision. The main purpose of opening banks was to supply citizens with loans, as well as the receipt of part of the net profit for the maintenance of public institutions and for various charitable purposes. The board of the bank consisted of the director and his two "comrades" (deputies). Initially the management of the bank was elected from among the members of the city duma, but after 20 years everything became exactly the opposite: the board members should not have been public, as well as employees of other commercial institutions.
From the surviving report of the Polotsk Bank for 1893, we know that the fixed capital of the bank, which comprised private donations from local merchants, townspeople and artisans, at the end of the year was more than 27.5 thousand rubles, and the spare was almost 375 rubles. The bank made the purchase and sale of securities and bills, issued loans and grants. From the profit he paid for the maintenance of his own building, which has survived to our days. In addition to the bank, there was a savings bank in the building, and money and securities were kept in metal vaults in the basements.
At the end of the 19th century the Polotsk bank staff included the director Smirnov, his two comrades Shpakov and Kots, as well as correspondents, a lawyer and several security guards. Bank employees not only engaged in customer service, but also in the creation of special reports to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance, as well as the publication of the bank’s balance sheet for each half year.