The Continental Bank and Trust Company of New York was a financial institution based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 as the German-American Bank, which became the Continental Bank of New York. Originally in the Equitable Building at 120 Broadway, the bank was later headquartered at 50

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

25 Broad Street The Broad Exchange Building, also known as 25 Broad Street, is a residential building at Exchange Place and Broad Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The 20-story building was designed by Clinton & Russell a ...

, and starting in 1932 the

Continental Bank Building The Continental Bank Building is a 50-story skyscraper at 30 Broad Street in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. It was completed in 1932 in the Art Deco style. It is next to the New York Stock Exchange Building. History Origin ...

It became known as the "brokers bank" for its collaboration with

brokers and investment banking interests. The institution was renamed the Continental Bank and Trust Company of New York around 1929, at which point it was involved in extending its business with acquisitions of commercial banking and fiduciary operations. Acquired banks included the

Fidelity Trust Company Fidelity Trust Company was a bank in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1866 as Fidelity Insurance, Trust, & Safe Deposit Company, the bank was later renamed Fidelity Trust Company, Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Company, The Fidelity Bank, and F ...

in 1929, International Trust Company and Straus National Bank and Trust Company in 1931, and

Industrial National Bank Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

later that year. In 1947, the bank earned $804,000 in net profits. As of December 31, 1947, Continental had total resources of $202,000,000, and deposits of $188,000,000. It merged with the

Chemical Bank and Trust Company Chemical Bank was a bank with headquarters in New York City from 1824 until 1996. At the end of 1995, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with about $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees around the world. Beginning ...

in 1948.

History

1870-1927: German-American Bank

The Continental Bank and Trust Company was established on August 1, 1870 at the original Equitable Building at 120 Broadway. The building was the first structure in the city to have passenger elevators. The bank went on to have its main office in several buildings, including one at 50

facing what was then the

New York Custom House The United States Custom House, sometimes referred to as the New York Custom House, was the place where the United States Customs Service collected federal customs duties on imported goods within New York City. Locations The Custom House ...

. Founders included

Jacob H. Schiff Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...

, H. B. Claflin,

Marcellus Hartley Marcellus Hartley (1827 – January 8, 1902) was an American arms dealer and merchant. He was appointed as an agent by the Union Army to purchase guns from Europe during the American Civil War. He later manufactured cartridges for breech-loading ...

, Robert L. Cutting, and

Joseph Seligman Joseph Seligman (November 22, 1819 – April 25, 1880) was an American banker and businessman who founded J. & W. Seligman & Co. He was the patriarch of what became known as the Seligman family in USA and was subsequently related to the wealthy ...

. Upon the United States entry into the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

against the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, the old German-American Bank became the Continental Bank of New York in 1918. Prior to the 1930s, the bank "identified during most of its career with the brokerage and investment banking interests of

," and the bank's activities expanded to also include the trust field. It became known as the "brokers bank" for its collaboration with Wall Street brokers to expand financially.

1928-1929: Name change and first acquisitions

To encapsulate the bank's increasing work in the trust field, it was renamed the Continental Bank and Trust Company of New York around 1929, prior to a series of mergers. In 1929, "through the subscription of new money by more than three hundred and fifty Stock Exchange and

Curb Exchange In finance, curb trading is the trading of securities outside the mainstream stock exchange, either because the company operating the exchange has very strict listing requirements (cf: alternative stock exchange) or because investors are so intere ...

houses, individual partners and other Wall Street interests and the purchase of new stock by the bank's stockholders," the bank increased its capital funds from $2,500,000 to $20,000,000. It decided to erect a new building that year, and began the development process with the oversight of the bank's president Frederick Harrison Hornby. The result would be the creation of

, a fifty story building at 30 Broad Street, built cooperatively by the bank and other organizations. Also in the fall of 1929, the bank underwent negotiations on a prospective merger of the Continental Bank and Trust Company of New York and the

. On October 9, 1929, the boards of both issued a joint announcement that they had approved a merger plan.

1930-1931: Mergers in the 1930s

By the 1930s, the bank was involved in extending its business with acquisitions of commercial banking and fiduciary operations. On August 3, 1931, it was reported that on September 16, the merger of Continental Bank and Trust Company and Straus National Bank and Trust Company, both of New York, and the acquisition "by the merged bank of the International Trust Company, subject to ratification by stockholders," would be effective. On end of business on September 15, 1931, the consolidation of the Straus National Bank and Trust Company of New York with the Continental Bank was completed, and the merged institution acquired certain assets of the International Trust Company. The Continental in its enlarged form opened the morning of September 16, 1931. Chairman of the consolidated bank was Frederick H. Hornby, who had formerly been president of Continental. President C. Howard Marfield was of Straus National as former president. After the company absorbed Straus and the International Trust, Hornby relinquished the presidency and became chairman for several years, resuming becoming president in 1933. To be effective on December 21, 1931, on December 15, the Continental Bank agreed to acquire the

, with the backing of both boards. The combined company would have $53,000,000 in combined deposits, but no increase in capital.

1932-1947: Continental Bank Building and new presidents

The Continental Bank and Trust Company opened for business on May 9, 1932 at the newly opened skyscraper at

30 Broad Street The Continental Bank Building is a 50-story skyscraper at 30 Broad Street in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. It was completed in 1932 in the Art Deco style. It is next to the New York Stock Exchange Building. History Origin ...

, after moving in to the Continental Bank Building the weekend before. Continental occupied basement A and B, and floors two, three, and four. The new headquarters combined the bank's previous headquarters across the street at

, and its branch office at

26 Broadway 26 Broadway, also known as the Standard Oil Building or Socony–Vacuum Building, is an office building adjacent to Bowling Green in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The 31-story, structure was designed in the Renais ...

. Branches remained at 565

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

, 512 Seventh Avenue, and 72 Second Avenue. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', in the decade following the bank became known as the "friendly bank," as Hornby and other officers would sit at their desks in the main banking room, where they were accessible to customers. By 1940, it was using seven floors of the building. On August 1, 1940, the Continental Bank and Trust Company celebrated its seventieth anniversary. The day prior, the president noted that the bank had deposits of $64,475,000, and was in the "unusual position" of having 6,000 stockholders but only 3,500 depositors, a result of a policy of "developing a selective, specialized commercial banking business." The president of the Continental Bank and Trust Company of New York, F. H. Hornby, died on October 19, 1942 after falling ill. He was replaced in February 1944 by James A. Jackson, after the presidency was assumed for several years by chairman Frederick E. Hasler. As of December 31, 1943, it had total resources amounting to $129,620,215, and total deposits of $119,437,880. Branch offices were maintained at 345

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

and 512 Seventh Avenue. With banker

Rafael Carrión Sr. Rafael Carrión Sr. (January 3, 1891 – March 26, 1964), the patriarch of one of Puerto Rico's financial dynasties, was one of the founding fathers of Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, the largest bank in Puerto Rico and the largest Hispanic bank in ...

one of the largest stockholders, in 1947 the bank earned $804,000 in net profits. As of December 31, 1947, Continental had total resources of $202,000,000, and deposits of $188,000,000.

1948: Buyout by Chemical Bank

On February 14, 1948, it was reported that the

was seeking to absorb the Continental Bank and Trust Company of New York. It was said the deal would return $12,500,000 to Continental's shareholders, and transfer about $190,000,000 in resources to the Chemical Bank. it was reported that the terms were seen as "acceptable" to Continental directors, with the bank's Broad Street headquarters and two branches to become the property of Chemical Bank. John K. McKee, president of Continental, was asked to become a senior officer at Chemical, with all other officers and employees invited to join Chemical Bank as well. The board of Chemical Bank, it was disclosed, would increase from 22 to 25. Along with two other directors from Continental,

became a member of Chemical's Board of Directors.

Key people

Presidents

*Frederick Harrison Hornby - president (1928-1931, 1933-1942)

Directors

* Walter E. Cosgriff: chairman *

George M. Reynolds George M. Reynolds (June 11, 1862 – December 19, 1935) was an American politician and businessman. Reynolds was born in LaSalle County, Illinois. He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University and was a school teacher. Reynolds lived in Utica ...

: chairman (as of January 24, 1928) *

Horace Henry Baxter Horace Henry Baxter (January 8, 1818 – February 17, 1884) was a Vermont businessman who served as Adjutant General of Vermont at the start of the American Civil War. He became President of the New York Central Railroad and was one of the major s ...

(1946-1948)