Johan Palmstruch had made two failed proposals for the creation of a banking institution in the 1650s before his third proposal, with the addition of a promise to pay half of the bank's profits to the crown, was accepted. King Charles X Gustav thus signed two charters on November 30, 1656 to create an exchange bank and a loans bank. The first of these (which opened in July 1657) took deposits for a fee (and accruing no interest) with the account owner later able to withdraw the money as cash or to write cheques. The second (which opened at the beginning of 1659) provided loans, financed by the bank owners and secured against property. These two departments were combined into Stockholms Banko with Palmstruch as general manager.