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BankBoston was a bank based in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, which was created by the 1996 merger of Bank of Boston and BayBank. One of its predecessor banks started in 1784, but the merged BankBoston was short-lived, being acquired by
Fleet Bank FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts-based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were converted to Bank of America. Histor ...
in 1999. In 2005, FleetBoston was purchased by, and merged into,
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
of
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
. After the sale of its Latin American branches in 2006, BankBoston currently exists solely as a subsidiary private bank owned by Bank of America.


History

The history of BankBoston represents the combination of dozens of banks throughout the New England region acquired over the course of more than two centuries. Among its notable predecessors were the Massachusetts Bank, the First National Bank of Boston, the Old Colony Trust Company and BayBank.


The Massachusetts Bank

Bank of Boston traced its roots back to The Massachusetts Bank founded in 1784. The Massachusetts Bank was the first federally chartered joint-stock owned bank in the United States and only the second bank to receive a charter in the United States. The bank's charter was signed by
John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...
and among its early account holders were such notable figures as
Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...
,
Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...
,
John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...
and
Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
. The bank's founders were largely made up of merchants who wanted to use a U.S., rather than British bank to send money abroad. It was first headquartered at the old
Manufactory House The Manufactory House in Boston, Massachusetts, was a linen manufactory built in 1753 to provide employment for local women and girls. The business failed, and the building was rented out to various tenants. In 1768, it was the site of a standoff ...
, near Boston Common. The bank was the only bank in the city of Boston until the Union Bank (later the
Bank of New England The Bank of New England Corporation was a regional banking institution based in Boston, Massachusetts, which was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 1991 as a result of heavy losses in its loan portfolio and was placed i ...
) was founded in 1792. In 1786, the Massachusetts Bank financed the first U.S. trade mission to China, and in 1791, it financed the first voyage of an American ship to
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, establishing what would become a long-standing presence in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. Bank of Boston would later become the largest foreign bank in several major Latin American cities. In 1864, The Massachusetts Bank was renamed the Massachusetts National Bank.


First National Bank of Boston

In 1903, The Massachusetts Bank merged with The First National Bank of Boston amidst a wave of consolidation in the banking industry at the start of the 20th century. First National had been founded in 1859 as Safety Fund Bank, changing its name in 1864 when it joined the national bank system. After a year operating as The Massachusetts First National Bank of Boston, the combined firm dropped the usage of "Massachusetts" in the name. On December 24, 1927, Bank of Boston's headquarters in
Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, were blown up by the
Italian anarchist Italian anarchism as a movement began primarily from the influence of Mikhail Bakunin, Giuseppe Fanelli, and Errico Malatesta. Rooted in collectivist anarchism, it expanded to include illegalist individualist anarchism, mutualism, anarcho- ...
Severino Di Giovanni Severino Di Giovanni (17 March 1901 – 1 February 1931) was an Italian anarchist who immigrated to Argentina, where he became the best-known anarchist figure in that country for his campaign of violence in support of Sacco and Vanzetti and anti ...
, in the frame of the international campaign supporting
Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a ...
. Despite the
Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
, the First National Bank of Boston continued to grow in 1929, purchasing the Old Colony Trust Company. However, following the passage of the Glass–Steagall Act in 1933, which prohibited commercial banks from engaging in investment banking and securities dealing, First National Bank of Boston was forced to divest its
investment banking Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...
arm, the
First Boston Corporation : ''For the company after its acquisition by Credit Suisse, see Credit Suisse First Boston (known as CSFB and CS First Boston)'' The First Boston Corporation was a New York-based bulge bracket investment bank, founded in 1932 and acquired by Cred ...
. In 1970 the Bank of Boston reorganized under a new holding company, First National Boston Corporation, and began a series of acquisitions of regional banks through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1978, the bank challenged a Massachusetts law limiting bank contributions to political issues. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with the bank that their First Amendment rights were being restricted, in ''
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti ''First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti'', 435 U.S. 765 (1978), is a U.S. constitutional law case which defined the free speech right of corporations for the first time. The United States Supreme Court held that corporations have a First Amen ...
''. In 1982, the bank renamed itself Bank of Boston. In 1985 Bank of Boston acquired Connecticut-based Colonial Bancorp and in 1987 acquired BankVermont Corporation.


Acquisition of BayBank to form BankBoston

By the 1990s, Bank of Boston was looking to make another large acquisition, hoping to make itself too rich to be acquired by a much larger player. However, the bank lost the bidding in 1991 for the failed
Bank of New England The Bank of New England Corporation was a regional banking institution based in Boston, Massachusetts, which was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 1991 as a result of heavy losses in its loan portfolio and was placed i ...
to
Fleet Bank FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts-based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were converted to Bank of America. Histor ...
, and its attempted merger with
Shawmut Bank Shawmut, according to 19th-century scholarship, is a term derived from the Algonquian word ''Mashauwomuk'' referring to the region of present-day Boston, Massachusetts.Forsford, Eben Norton, ''The Indian names of Boston, and their meaning''Univer ...
collapsed in early 1992. In 1994, Bank of Boston entered into discussions with Fleet about a potential merger but ultimately Fleet chose to merge with Shawmut in 1995. This merger made Fleet the largest bank in Boston and New England. In 1995, Bank of Boston announced a merger with BayBank, another local financial institution. Although still smaller than its failed takeover targets earlier in the decade, BayBank had a strong retail banking operation, with 205 branches and over a thousand ATMs. Baybanks was founded in 1928 when a Massachusetts asset manager with controlling stakes in nine banks reorganized itself as Old Colony Trust. After successfully weathering the Great Depression, Old Colony Trust changed its name to Baystate Corporation. This reflected the widening scope of operations and services the firm provided throughout Massachusetts. In the 1950s and 1960s, Baystate engaged in an aggressive acquisitions strategy and bought more than 40 banks. In 1976 the bank's name was changed from Baystate to BayBanks, Inc. BayBanks derived 80 percent of its revenues from its retail business, with 31% of households in eastern Massachusetts, and 25% across the entire state, having at least one BayBanks account. Following the merger, the combined Bank of Boston did regain the title as the largest bank in the city of Boston from its rival
Fleet Bank FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts-based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were converted to Bank of America. Histor ...
although Fleet was still the larger bank overall. With the addition of BayBank's $11 billion of assets, the combined bank had total assets of over $62 billion at the end of 1996. The combined bank, rebranded BankBoston in 1996, was a major financial institution both domestically and internationally, due in part to the Latin American holdings of Bank of Boston, where the old name was still used. Nonetheless, it would soon be subsumed by one of the many U.S. bank mergers that proliferated in the 1990s. In August 1998 BankBoston acquired Robertson Stephens & Co. from
BankAmerica Corporation The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
for approximately $800 million. The transaction represented the second largest acquisition in company history, after the purchase of BayBank.


Bank of New York

On 26 October 1999, Bank of New York gained BankBoston Panama as its subcustodian bank in Panama. Beginning in 1996, the 1973 established BankBoston Panama provided custody services to non-resident investors in Panama.


Merger with Fleet

Boston-based
Fleet Bank FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts-based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were converted to Bank of America. Histor ...
(originally Providence Bank, founded in Rhode Island in 1791) acquired BankBoston in 1999, on the heels of acquiring
Shawmut Bank Shawmut, according to 19th-century scholarship, is a term derived from the Algonquian word ''Mashauwomuk'' referring to the region of present-day Boston, Massachusetts.Forsford, Eben Norton, ''The Indian names of Boston, and their meaning''Univer ...
just a few years earlier. Fleet now dominated the New England market, yet saw the value in maintaining the old Bank of Boston brand in Latin America. The combination of Fleet and BankBoston resulted in what was the eighth largest bank in the United States at the time, with assets of over $190 billion. Between the acquisitions by Fleet and BankBoston, the combined bank had consumed eight of the ten largest banks in New England at the start of the 1990s. The merged entity,
FleetBoston Financial FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts-based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were converted to Bank of America. History ...
, adopted BankBoston's former Boston headquarters as its own. The bank had branches throughout
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
and the mid-Atlantic states. In 2000, FleetBoston acquired Summit Bancorp of
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. The acquisition of Summit, New Jersey's largest remaining bank at the time, vaulted FleetBoston into the #1 market-share position in the state of New Jersey and provided critical mass in the
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
metro area.


Acquisition by Bank of America

In 2004, FleetBoston in turn was purchased by
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
, which was looking to expand its East Coast presence. Bank of America chose to unload Bank of Boston's historic Latin American assets (still branded as BankBoston), in order to focus on becoming one of the largest U.S. domestic banks. On 17 December 2004, Bank of America sold its BankBoston (BKB) operations in Peru, Colombia, and Panama to the 1955 established Panamanian private equity bank '' Banco General''. In 2006,
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
sold all BankBoston's Brazilian assets to Brazilian bank
Banco Itaú Banco Itaú S.A. was a former Brazilian bank that merged with Unibanco on November 4, 2008, to form Banco Itaú Unibanco. History Banco Itaú began in 1945 under the name ''Banco Central de Crédito'' (Central Bank of Credit) and later changed ...
, in exchange for Itaú shares. The BankBoston name and trademarks were not part of the transaction and, as part of the sale agreement, cannot be used by Bank of America. In August 2006, Itaú purchased BankBoston assets in Chile and Uruguay. Operations in these countries continued to use the BankBoston brand until Banco Itau completed its takeover in Chile on February 27, 2007, and in Uruguay on March 23, 2007. In December 2006, Argentina's central bank approved Bank of America's sale of BankBoston Argentina to South Africa's
Standard Bank Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg. History ...
. With the finalization of the sale on April 3, 2007,Standard Bank, 3 April 2007
(press release) the BankBoston brand ceased to exist in any branches (in 2012 an 80% stake was sold by Standard Bank to
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC; ) is a Chinese multinational bank. Founded as a limited company on 1 January 1984, ICBC is a state-owned commercial bank. With capital provided by the Ministry of Finance of China, the ...
). BankBoston currently exists solely as an international private bank, a subsidiary owned by Bank of America.


See also

*


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bankboston Bank of America legacy banks Banks disestablished in 2005 Banks established in 1996 Companies based in Boston Defunct banks of the United States Defunct companies based in Massachusetts Economic history of Boston