Apple Bank for Savings is a

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to al ...

headquartered in

Manhasset, New York Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...

and operating in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...

History

The company was founded in 1863 as the Haarlem Savings Bank by a group of local merchants as a community-based

mutual savings bank A mutual savings bank is a financial institution chartered by a central or regional government, without capital stock, owned by its members who subscribe to a common fund. From this fund, claims, loans, etc., are paid. Profits after deductions a ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

at the time was a suburban village - it was not part of New York City until 1873 - and the bank's first location on 3rd Avenue between 125th and 126th Streets was surrounded by farms and undeveloped lots. In 1869, the bank moved to a building of its own construction on 3rd Avenue and 124th Street. In 1907, the bank moved its headquarters to 124 E. 125th St. In 1932, just after the Great Depression, the bank acquired Commonwealth Savings Bank and its 2 branches. The branches were on 157th Street and 180th Street in

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the uppermost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest natural point on Manhattan by Continental Army troops to defen ...

. In 1933, the bank dropped the second 'a' from its name to match the now-standard spelling of the neighborhood's name: Harlem. In 1966, the bank opened a branch in

, on Long Island as the population growth shifted to the suburbs. In 1968, the bank moved its headquarters from Harlem to 42nd Street. In 1981, in a deal organized by the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cr ...

that included a $160 million grant from the agency, the bank acquired the troubled Central Savings Bank. Created as the German Savings Bank in 1858, Central Savings Bank counted Daniel F. Tiemann, then Mayor of New York, as a charter member and operated out of the Cooper Union building before moving to a location at 14th Street and 4th Avenue in 1864. The acquisition gave the bank an additional seven branches including the

Apple Bank Building The Apple Bank Building, also known as the Central Savings Bank Building and 2100 Broadway, is a bank and residential building at 2100–2114 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Constructed as a branch of the Central ...

at 2112

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

(between West 73rd and

West 74th Street 74th Street is an east–west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the Upper East Side neighborhood (in ZIP code 10021, where it is known as East ...

s), a designated historic landmark designed by

York and Sawyer York and Sawyer was an American architectural firm active between 1898 and 1949. The firms' work is exemplary of Beaux-Arts architecture as it was practiced in the United States. The partners Edward York (July 23, 1863– December 30, 1928) and ...

in the Palazzo style of

Renaissance Revival architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

, as well as two branches in Nassau County on Long Island. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the bank continued to expand into the suburbs outside New York City. To reflect its geographic expansion, the bank changed its name to Apple Bank in May 1983. In 1985, the bank converted from a mutual savings bank to a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...

, selling 4.6 million shares for $53.5 million in an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

. On December 31, 1986, the bank acquired Eastern Savings Bank, obtaining three branches in the Bronx, two in Westchester and two on Long Island. In 1989, the bank acquired Sag Harbor Savings Bank and its 5 branches for $29.5 million. Sag Harbor Savings Bank was chartered in 1860 in

Sag Harbor, New York Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on eastern Long Island. The village developed as a working port on Gardiner's Bay. The population was 2,772 at the ...

to provide financial services for the

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

industry. In 1990, Stanley Stahl, the developer of

277 Park Avenue 277 Park Avenue is an office building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It stands on the east side of Park Avenue between East 47th and 48th Streets, and is tall, with 50 floors. It is tied with two other buildings, 55 Wat ...

, acquired the bank for $174 million. The purchase price was well below the

book value In accounting, book value is the value of an asset according to its balance sheet account balance. For assets, the value is based on the original cost of the asset less any depreciation, amortization or impairment costs made against the asset. Tra ...

of the bank and the bank initially rejected the bid and adopted a poison pill to prevent the takeover. Stahl fought the poison pill. Shareholders supported the merger after the stock price fell during the

early 1990s recession The early 1990s recession describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the Western world in the early 1990s. The impacts of the recession contributed in part to the 1992 U.S. presidential election victory of Bill Clinton over incu ...

. In 1991, William J. Laraia became chairman and chief executive officer of the bank. Laraia reduced the commercial loan portfolio and cut costs significantly. In 1994, Alan Shamoon became the chief executive officer of the bank. In August 1999, Stahl died and ownership of the bank passed to trusts. On April 20, 2013, Apple Bank acquired 29 branches and the related deposit accounts and services from

Emigrant Savings Bank Emigrant Bank (formerly Emigrant Savings Bank) is a private American financial institution. It is the oldest savings bank in New York City and it was the ninth-largest privately owned bank in America in 2012, with assets of $8.1 billion. As of June ...

. This acquisition gave Apple a total of 77 branches in greater New York and close to $13 billion in assets. In May 2015, the bank opened a branch in Jackson Heights, Queens. In June 2015, the bank opened a second branch in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, at 426 86th Street. In October 2015, the bank opened a branch in Monsey, New York. In April 2016, Steven C. Bush became chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the bank. In February 2021 Apple Bank was fined $12.5 million by the

for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act related to anti-money laundering controls.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1863 establishments in New York (state) Banks based in New York City Banks established in 1863 Privately held companies of the United States Privately held companies based in New York (state)