Irving Trust was an American
Commercial bank
A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit.
It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...
headquartered 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 ...
that operated between 1851 and 1988 when it was acquired by
Bank of New York
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Financ ...
. From 1965 the bank was the principal subsidiary of the Irving Bank Corporation.
Between 1913 and 1931, its headquarters was in the
Woolworth Building
The Woolworth Building is an early skyscraper, early American skyscraper designed by architect Cass Gilbert located at 233 Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was the tallest building in ...
; after 1931, until it was acquired by Bank of New York, its headquarters was located at
One Wall Street
1 Wall Street (also known as the Irving Trust Company Building, the Bank of New York Building, and the BNY Mellon Building) is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City, on the eastern side of Broadway between Wal ...
, at what is now known as the
BNY Mellon Building.
History
The bank had its origins in 1851, when the Irving Bank of the City of New York was founded. Since there was not yet a federal currency, each bank issued its own paper and those institutions with the most appealing names found their certificates more widely accepted. The firm was named after
Washington Irving
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...
, an author, diplomat, and lawyer who had gained an international reputation as America's first man of letters. His portrait appeared on the bank's notes and contributed to their wide appeal.
In June 1865, it converted from a state bank to a bank chartered under the National Bank Act of 1863, and became the Irving National Bank of New York. In 1907, after a merger, it became the Irving National Exchange Bank of New York, changing its name to the Irving National Bank in 1912.
In 1918, it acquired by merger the Market and Fulton National Bank of New York, and in 1919 the Sherman National Bank of New York and the National City Bank of Brooklyn. In 1922, it merged with the Columbia Trust Company, a New York State-chartered bank, creating the Irving Bank and Trust Company.
Later, in 1926, it acquired by merger the American Exchange-Pacific Bank, and changed its name to the American Exchange Irving Trust Company.
Finally, in 1929, it changed its name to the Irving Trust Company, the name under which it was known until 1989.
As of March 9, 1921, there were four national banks in New York City operating branch offices, also including
Chatham and Phenix National, the
Mechanics and Metals National
The Mechanics and Metals National Bank (MMNB) was a bank in New York City, founded in 1810 as the Mechanics National Bank. In 1910 it merged with National Copper Bank and took the Mechanics and Metals National Bank name. After a number of mergers a ...
, the Irving National, and
National City Bank.
In 1922, Irving Trust opened an account with
Vnesheconombank
VEB.RF, or VEB (russian: ВЭБ.РФ (ex-Vnesheconombank)), is a Russian state development corporation. It was founded in 2007 as a development institute. VEB.RF is an investment company and development institute in Russia. It has financed more t ...
, now known as
VEB, enabling the bank to conduct transactions with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and later the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
In 1923, Irving Trust held correspondent accounts for the
sovzagranbank (russian: Совзагранбанк) ''
Russo-Iranian Bank'' (RIB) also known a ''Rusiranbank'' (russian: Русиранбанк).
) was established as the ''Russo-Persian Banking Office for Credit and Payment Services for Trade Between Iran and the USSR and Assistance to the Development of Iranian Agriculture and Industry'' (russian: Российско-персидское банковское управление по кредитным и платежным услугам для торговли между Ираном и СССР и содействие развитию сельского хозяйства и промышленности Ирана) in September 1923 in
Teheran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most populo ...
by Iranian merchants and the ''Russo-Asian Joint-stock Company'' (russian: Русско-Азиатское Акционерное Общество) which was based in Moscow. It was formerly the ''Banque Russo-Persane'' also known as ''Ruspersbank'' (russian: Русперсбанк). Following the 21 February 1921 coup of the pro-British
Ahmad Shah Qajar
Ahmad Shah Qajar ( fa, احمد شاه قاجار; 21 January 1898 – 21 February 1930) was Shah of Persia (Iran) from 16 July 1909 to 15 December 1925, and the last ruling member of the Qajar dynasty.
Ahmad Shah was born in Tabriz on 21 Janu ...
by the pro-Moscow
Reza Khan
,
, spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort)Turan AmirsoleimaniEsmat Dowlatshahi
, issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess ShamsMohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza Prin ...
, the
Russo-Persian Treaty of Friendship (1921)
The Russo-Persian Treaty of Friendship was signed on 26 February 1921 in Moscow between representatives of Persia and Soviet Russia. Based on the terms of the treaty, all previous agreements made between the signatories including the Treaty of Tur ...
was signed on 26 February 1921 in Moscow. In 1923, the head of security service at RIB was the future
Shah of Iran
This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...
Reza Shah
Reza Shah Pahlavi ( fa, رضا شاه پهلوی; ; originally Reza Khan (); 15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was an Iranian Officer (armed forces), military officer, politician (who served as Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Iran), ...
. In February 1932, the ''Russo-Persian Banking Office for Credit and Payment Services for Trade Between Iran and the USSR and Assistance to the Development of Iranian Agriculture and Industry'' changed its name to Bank Russo-Iran (Rusiranbank). In 1934, RIB was one of the largest banks in Iran and had an extensive network of branches throughout Iran. In 1938, 40% of Iran's trade was with the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and the Rusiranbank was pivotal. In 1954,
Vneshtorgbank
VTB Bank (; formerly known as ''Vneshtorgbank'', , lit. 'International Trade Bank') is a Russian majority state-owned bank headquartered in various federal districts of Russia; its legal address is registered in St. Petersburg; as of 2022 ...
held an 84% stake and
Gosbank
Gosbank (russian: Госбанк, Государственный банк СССР, ''Gosudarstvenny bank SSSR''—the State Bank of the USSR) was the central bank of the Soviet Union and the only bank in the entire country from 1922 to 1991. ...
held the remainder. Rusiranbank also had correspondent accounts with
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
and
Chase Manhattan.
[
In 1929, Irving was New York's fourth ranked financial institution, and fifth in the United States.]
Irving Trust was an official sponsor of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States.
Lake Placid was elected ...
in Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303.
The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...
.
In 1983, the Irving Trust had 13 branches in New York and was primarily a wholesale bank working with mid- and large-sized corporations and banks. It also had offices around the world, allowing for their claim that the sun never set on the Irving.
In 1986, Natasha Kagalovsky (née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Gurfinkel) became an employee as head of the department handling accounts with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
Merged into Bank of New York
On October 7, 1988, the Irving Trust board signed an agreement to merge with Bank of New York
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Financ ...
ending a yearlong battle as Bank of New York engineered a hostile takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...
. At the time of the merger the combined banks became the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
' 12th largest bank with asset of $42 billion. During that year Irving had been trying to participate in a friendly merger with Banca Commerciale Italiana
Banca Commerciale Italiana (COMIT), founded in 1894, was once one of the largest banks in Italy. In 1999 it merged with a banking group consisting of Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde (aka Cariplo; est. 1823) and Banco Ambroveneto, wh ...
.
See also
* Irving Trust Company Building
Notes
References
{{BNY Mellon
Banks based in New York City
BNY Mellon
Defunct financial services companies of the United States
American companies established in 1851
Banks established in 1851
Banks disestablished in 1988
Defunct banks of the United States
1851 establishments in New York (state)
1988 disestablishments in New York (state)
Defunct companies based in New York City
Defunct banks of New York City