HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American
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 ...
services holding company 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 ...
. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the
Mellon Financial Corporation Mellon Financial Corporation was an investment firm which was once one of the world's largest money management firms. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it was in the business of institutional and high-net-worth individual asset management, inc ...
in 2007. It is the world's largest
custodian bank A custodian bank, or simply custodian, is a specialized financial institution responsible for providing securities services. It safeguards assets of asset managers, insurance companies, hedge funds, and is not engaged in "traditional" commercial ...
and securities services company, with $2.4 trillion in assets under management and $46.7 trillion in assets under custody as of the second quarter of 2021. It is considered a
systemically important bank A systemically important financial institution (SIFI) is a bank, insurance company, or other financial institution whose failure might trigger a financial crisis. They are colloquially referred to as "too big to fail". As the financial crisis o ...
by the
Financial Stability Board The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It was established after the G20 London summit in April 2009 as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum ...
. BNY Mellon is
incorporated in Delaware The Delaware General Corporation Law (Title 8, Chapter 1 of the Delaware Code) is the statute of the Delaware Code that governs corporate law in the U.S. state of Delaware. Adopted in 1899, the statute has since seen Delaware become the most imp ...
. Through its Bank of New York predecessor, it is one of the three oldest banking corporations in the United States and among the oldest banks in the world, having been established in June 1784 by a group that included
American Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the Am ...
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
and
Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
. T. Mellon and Sons Bank, was founded in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
in 1869 by
Thomas Mellon Thomas Mellon (February 3, 1813 – February 3, 1908) was an American entrepreneur, lawyer, and judge, best known as the founder of Mellon Bank and patriarch of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh. Early life Mellon was born to farmers Andrew Mellon ...
and his sons Richard and
Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
, the latter of whom later became Secretary of the US Treasury.


History


Bank of New York

The first bank in the U.S. was the
Bank of North America The Bank of North America was the first chartered bank in the United States, and served as the country's first ''de facto'' central bank. Chartered by the Congress of the Confederation on May 26, 1781, and opened in Philadelphia on January 7, 17 ...
in Philadelphia, which was chartered by the Continental Congress in 1781;
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were among its founding shareholders. In February 1784, The Massachusetts Bank in Boston was chartered. The shipping industry 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 ...
chafed under the lack of a bank, and investors envied the 14% dividends that Bank of North America paid, and months of local discussion culminated in a June 1784 meeting at a coffee house on
St. George's Square St George's Square is a prestigious and very long garden square in affluent Pimlico, Central London. It benefits from gardens and a church in its central area. Near the northern acute angle, the square is intersected by Lupus Street. Pimli ...
which led to the formation of the Bank of New York company; it operated without a charter for seven years. The initial plan was to capitalize the company with $750,000, a third in cash and the rest in mortgages, but after this was disputed the first offering was to capitalize it with $500,000 in gold or silver. When the bank opened on June 9, 1784, the full $500,000 had not been raised; 723 shares had been sold, held by 192 people.
Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
had three of them, and Hamilton had one and a half shares. The first president was
Alexander McDougall Alexander McDougall (1732 9 June 1786) was a Scottish-born American seaman, merchant, a Sons of Liberty leader from New York City before and during the American Revolution, and a military leader during the Revolutionary War. He served as a m ...
and the Cashier was William Seton. Its first offices were in the old Walton Mansion in New York City. In 1787, it moved to a site on Hanover Square that the
New York Cotton Exchange The New York Cotton Exchange (NYCE) is a commodities exchange founded in 1870 by a group of one hundred cotton brokers and merchants in New York City. In 1998, the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) became the parent company of the New York Cotton ...
later moved into. The bank provided the United States government its first loan in 1789. The loan was orchestrated by Hamilton, then
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
, and it paid the salaries of
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
members and
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
. The Bank of New York was the first company to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange when it first opened in 1792. In 1796, the bank moved to a location at the corner of
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 ...
and William Street, which would later become 48 Wall Street. The bank had a monopoly on banking services in the city until the
Bank of the Manhattan Company The Manhattan Company was a New York bank and holding company established on September 1, 1799. The company merged with Chase National Bank in 1955 to form the Chase Manhattan Bank. It is the oldest of the predecessor institutions that eventually ...
was founded by Aaron Burr in 1799; the Bank of New York and Hamilton vigorously opposed its founding. During the 19th century, the bank was known for its conservative lending practices that allowed it to weather financial crises. It was involved in the funding of the
Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...
and
Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
canals, and
steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
companies. The bank helped finance both the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
and the
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Following the Civil War, the bank loaned money to many major infrastructure projects, including utilities, railroads, and the
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
. Through the early 20th century, the Bank of New York continued to expand and prosper. In July 1922, the bank merged with the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company. The bank continued to profit and pay dividends throughout the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, and its total deposits increased during the decade. In 1948, the Bank again merged, this time with the Fifth Avenue Bank, which was followed by a merger in 1966 with the Empire Trust Company. The bank's
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
was created in 1969. In 1988, the Bank of New York merged with Irving Bank Corporation after a year-long
hostile take over In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (law), 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 ...
bid by Bank of New York. Irving had been headquartered at
1 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 ...
and after the merger, this became the headquarters of the Bank of New York on July 20, 1998. In 1922,
Irving Trust Irving Trust was an American Commercial bank headquartered in New York City that operated between 1851 and 1988 when it was acquired by Bank of New York. From 1965 the bank was the principal subsidiary of the Irving Bank Corporation. Between 1913 ...
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, and beginning on October 7, 1988, when the merger was approved, the Bank of New York was able to conduct transactions 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 later in 1991
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 ...
. 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) with the pseudonym ''Gurova'', who had been an employee at Irving Trust since 1986 and was in charge of the banking with the Soviet Union, became a senior vice president at the Bank of New York heading the Eastern European operations from 1992 until October 13, 1999, when she resigned.Alt website
/ref> From 1993 to 1998, the bank made 33 acquisitions, including acquiring JP Morgan's Global Custody Business in 1995. Ivy Asset Management was acquired in 2000, and the bank acquired Pershing LLC, the United States' second-largest trade clearinghouse, in 2003. In the 1990s, or "Mickey" Galitzine (russian: Владимир Кириллович Голицын; 1942-2018, born Belgrade) with the pseudonym ''Vladimirov'', whose father was a director of the
Tolstoy Foundation The Tolstoy Foundation is a non-profit charitable and philanthropic organization. It was established on April 26, 1939, by Alexandra Tolstaya, the youngest daughter of the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, and her friend Tatiana Schaufuss. Its headquarter ...
, established and headed the Eastern European Department at the Bank of New York until 1992 and hired many Russians. He mentored many new bankers in
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, the former
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, and
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and travelled extensively to capital cities in the former Soviet Union or the
CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...
to assist new bankers especially in
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 ...
to where he travelled for his first time in 1990,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
,
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
,
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
,
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
, and
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
. In 1960, he joined the Bank of New York and worked as an accountant in its International Department but later headed the Russia team as a vice president of the bank. His wife Tatiana Vladimirovna Kazimirova (russian: Татьяна Владимировна Казимирова; b. 1943, Berlin), an employee at the Bank of New York whom he married in 1963, worked very closely with him. He traveled for his first time to Russia in 1990. He worked closely with banks in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
,
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and was an expert in
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
,
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
,
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
, and other raw materials financing. Bank of New York had correspondent accounts for several Russian banks including
Inkombank Vladimir Viktorovich Vinogradov (Russian Владимир Викторович Виноградов) (19 September 1955 in Ufa — 29 June 2008 in Moscow) was the owner and president of Inkombank, one of the largest banks in 90s' Russia. Considere ...
(russian: Инкомбанк), Menatep (russian: «Менатеп»), Tokobank (russian: Токобанк), Tveruniversalbank (russian: Тверьуниверсалбанк),
Alfa-Bank ALFA-BANK JSC (Alfa-Bank), is the largest of the private banks in Russia. It was founded in 1990 by Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, who is still the controlling owner today. Headquartered in Moscow, it operates in seven countries, providin ...
(russian: Альфа-банк), (russian: Собинбанк), Moscow International Bank (russian: Московский международный банк) and others. In 2005, the bank settled a US federal investigation that began in 1996 concerning
money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
related to post-Soviet privatization in Russia. The illegal operation involved two Russian emigres, Peter Berlin and his wife Lyudmila "Lucy" (
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 ...
Pritzker) Edwards who was a Vice President of the bank and worked at its London office, moving over US$7 billion via hundreds of wires. Through accounts created by Peter Berlin for Alexei Volkov's Torfinex Corportion, Bees Lowland, which was an offshore shell company created by Peter Berlin, and Benex International Company Inc, numerous irregular wire transfers occurred at the Bank of New York. In October 1997 at
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, Joseph Roisis, also spelled Yosif Aronovizh Roizis and nicknamed ''Cannibal'' as a member of
Russian mafia Russian organized crime or Russian mafia (, ), otherwise known as Bratva (), is a collective of various organized crime elements originating in the former Soviet Union. The initialism OPG is Organized Criminal (''prestupnaya'' in Russian) Gr ...
's
Solntsevskaya Bratva The Solntsevskaya Organized Crime Group (russian: Солнцевская организованная преступная группировка), also known as the Solntsevskaya Bratva (russian: link=no, Солнцевская братва), is a ...
with businesses in
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
, explained to Italian prosecutors that 90% of the money flowing through Benex accounts at the Bank of New York is Russian mafia money.; b. late 1940s,
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 ...
), who was also known as Aron, Gregory, Grisha, or "Ogre", immigrated to the United States with his wife and two children two years after fighting for Israel in the
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
and operated a furniture store in
Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach i ...
as a front for trafficking
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
from
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
where he purchased furniture for his store.
Marat Balagula Marat Yakovlevich Balagula (russian: Мара́т Я́ковлевич Балагула; 8 September 1943 – 19 December 2019) was a Jewish-American organized crime figure, crime boss, and close associate of the Lucchese crime family and Colom ...
(russian: Марат Балагул) assisted him with obtaining heroin from
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
via
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. Roitsis gave Leonid "Tarzan" Fainberg or Feinberg (russian: Леонид «Тарзан» Файнберг; b. Ukraine), who was also known as Ludwid "Tarzan" Fainberg and was trained as a dentist but left the Soviet Union for Israel where he obtained an Israeli passport and immigrated to the United States in the 1980s via Germany, a job at his furniture store in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York City. Alexei Volkov was charged in the United States but fled to Russia which has no extradition treaty with the United States and later the charges were dropped. Svetlana Kudryavtsev, a Bank of New York employee that was responsible for the proper operation of the Benex accounts in New York which had ties to
Semion Mogilevich Semion Yudkovich Mogilevich ( uk, Семен Юдкович Могилевич, Semén Yúdkovych Mohylévych ; born June 30, 1946) is a Ukrainian-born Russian organized crime boss. He quickly built a highly structured criminal organization, in ...
and through which passed $4.2 billion from October 1998 to March 1999, refused to cooperate and resigned during an internal audit of the matter but was later indicted by the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
for her role in which she received $500 a month from Edwards for her services.
Alexander Mamut Alexander Leonidovich Mamut also spelled Aleksandr, (russian: Алекса́ндр Леони́дович Маму́т; born 29 January 1960, Moscow) is a Russian billionaire lawyer, banker and investor. Used to be (until 2020) a co-owner of Ram ...
's Sobinbank, which since August 2010 is a subsidiary of
Rossiya Bank The Rossiya Bank (Bank Rossiya (russian: Банк «Росси́я»), in Russian: Акционерный коммерческий банк Россия, АКБ Россия) is a Russian joint stock bank founded on June 27, 1990. The company's h ...
, was raided on October 10, 1999, in support of United States investigations into money laundering at the Bank of New York. The
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
registered Sobinbank Limited facilitated transfers between December 1997 and February 1999 for Benex accounts.
Edmond Safra Edmond J. Safra ( ar, ادموند يعقوب صفرا; 6 August 1932 – 3 December 1999) was a Lebanese-Brazilian banker who continued the family tradition of banking in Brazil and Switzerland. He was married to Lily Watkins from 1976 until ...
of the bank
Republic New York Republic New York Corporation was the holding company for Republic National Bank of New York, Safra Republic Holdings, and Safra Republic Bank. The company was controlled by billionaire Edmond Safra, who was killed in a fire in his Monte Carlo p ...
, which is a longtime rival of the Bank of New York, alerted the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
to the money laundering scheme which also involved Russian banks including Sobinbank and the Depozitarno-Kliringovy Bank (DKB) or the Russian Deposit Clearinghouse Bank (russian: российский «Депозитарно-клиринговый банк» («ДКБ»)) which was created by Peter Berlin and had the same address as the Bees Lowland offshore shell company. $3 billion went from both Russian DKB and Sobinbank accounts through the Igor and Oleg Berezovsky owned Italian firm ''Prima'' based in
Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...
and, through Andrei Marisov at the Grigory Luchansky associated French firm ''Kama Trade'' which had accounts with the Société bancaire arabe (SBA) to accounts at the Peter Berlin created Sinex Bank in
Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...
. In 2006, the Bank of New York traded its retail banking and regional middle-market businesses for J.P. Morgan Chase's corporate trust assets. The deal signaled the bank's exit from retail banking.


Mellon Financial

Mellon Financial was founded as T. Mellon & Sons' Bank in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Pennsylvania, in 1869 by retired judge
Thomas Mellon Thomas Mellon (February 3, 1813 – February 3, 1908) was an American entrepreneur, lawyer, and judge, best known as the founder of Mellon Bank and patriarch of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh. Early life Mellon was born to farmers Andrew Mellon ...
and his sons
Andrew W. Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...
and
Richard B. Mellon Richard Beatty Mellon (March 19, 1858 – December 1, 1933), sometimes R.B., part of the Mellon family, was a banker, industrialist, and philanthropist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Biography He and his brother Andrew Mellon, sons of Judge Tho ...
. The bank invested in and helped found numerous industrial firms in the late 1800s and early 1900s including
Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...
, Westinghouse,
Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
,
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
and
Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...
. Both Gulf Oil and Alcoa are, according to the financial media, considered to be T. Mellon & Sons' most successful financial investments. In 1902, T. Mellon & Sons' name was changed to the Mellon National Bank. The firm merged with the Union Trust Company, a business founded by Andrew Mellon, in 1946. The newly formed organization resulting from the merger was named the Mellon National Bank and Trust Company, and was Pittsburgh's first US$1 billion bank. The bank formed the first dedicated
family office A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50-$100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer w ...
in the United States in 1971. A reorganization in 1972 led to the bank's name changing to Mellon Bank, N.A. and the formation of a holding company, Mellon National Corporation. Mellon Bank acquired multiple banks and financial institutions in Pennsylvania during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1992, Mellon acquired 54 branch offices of
Philadelphia Savings Fund Society The Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS), originally called the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society, was a savings bank headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. PSFS was founded in December 1816, the first savings bank to organ ...
, the first savings bank in the United States, founded in 1819. In 1993, Mellon acquired The Boston Company from
American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
and AFCO Credit Corporation from The Continental Corporation. The following year, Mellon merged with the Dreyfus Corporation, bringing its mutual funds under its umbrella. In 1999, Mellon Bank Corporation became Mellon Financial Corporation. Two years later, it exited the retail banking business by selling its assets and retail bank branches to
Citizens Financial Group Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is an American bank headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, which operates in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsyl ...
.


Merger

On December 4, 2006, the Bank of New York and Mellon Financial Corporation announced they would merge. The merger created the world's largest securities servicing company and one of the largest asset management firms by combining Mellon's wealth-management business and the Bank of New York's asset-servicing and short-term-lending specialties. The companies anticipated saving about $700 million in costs and cutting around 3,900 jobs, mostly by attrition. The deal was valued at $16.5 billion and under its terms, the Bank of New York's shareholders received 0.9434 shares in the new company for each share of the Bank of New York that they owned, while Mellon Financial shareholders received 1 share in the new company for each Mellon share they owned. The Bank of New York and Mellon Financial entered into mutual
stock option In finance, an option is a contract which conveys to its owner, the ''holder'', the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price on or before a specified dat ...
agreements for 19.9 percent of the issuer's outstanding
common stock Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Com ...
. The merger was finalized on July 1, 2007. The company's principal office of business at the One Wall Street office previously held by the Bank of New York. The full name of the company became The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., with the BNY Mellon brand name being used for most lines of business.


Post-merger history

In October 2008, the
U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
named BNY Mellon the master custodian of the
Troubled Asset Relief Program The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President G ...
(TARP) bailout fund during the financial crisis of 2007 to 2010. BNY Mellon won the assignment, which included handling accounting and record-keeping for the program, through a bidding process. In November 2008, the company announced that it would lay-off 1,800 employees, or 4 percent of its global workforce, due to the financial crisis. According to the results of a February 2009 stress test conducted by federal regulators, BNY Mellon was one of only three banks that could withstand a worsening economic situation. The company received $3 billion from TARP, which it paid back in full in June 2009, along with US$136 million to buy back
warrants Warrant may refer to: * Warrant (law), a form of specific authorization ** Arrest warrant, authorizing the arrest and detention of an individual ** Search warrant, a court order issued that authorizes law enforcement to conduct a search for eviden ...
from the Treasury in August 2009. In August 2009, BNY Mellon purchased Insight Investment, a management business for external funds, from
Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Banking Group is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds Bank w ...
. The company acquired
PNC Financial Services The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (stylized as PNC) is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 U.S. state, states and the D ...
' Global Investment Servicing Inc. in July 2010 and Talon Asset Management's wealth management business in 2011. By 2013, the company's capital had steadily risen from the financial crisis. In the results of the Federal Reserve's Dodd-Frank stress test in 2013, the bank was least affected by hypothetical extreme economic scenarios among banks tested. It was also a top performer on the same test in 2014. BNY Mellon began a marketing campaign in 2013 to increase awareness of the company that included a new slogan and logo. In 2013, the bank started building a new IT system called
NEXEN CNOOC Petroleum North America ULC, formerly known as Nexen, is a Canadian oil and gas company based in Calgary, Alberta. Originally the Canadian subsidiary of US-based Occidental Petroleum (known as Canadian Occidental Petroleum or CanOxy), it ...
. NEXEN uses open source technology and includes components such as an
API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standa ...
store, data analytics, and a
cloud computing Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage ( cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over mul ...
environment. In May 2014, BNY Mellon sold its
1 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 ...
headquarters, and in 2015, moved into leased space at Brookfield Place. In June 2014, the company combined its global markets, global collateral services and prime services to create the new Markets Group, also known as BNY Markets Mellon. The company expanded its
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
office in October 2014 as part of the company's plans to grow its wealth management business. Between 2014 and 2016, BNY Mellon opened innovation centers focused on emerging technologies, big data, digital and cloud-based projects, with the first opening in
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
. In September 2017, BNY Mellon announced that it agreed to sell CenterSquare Investment Management to its management team and the private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners. The transaction is subject to standard regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. In January 2018, BNY Mellon announced that it was again moving its headquarters location, less than four years after its prior move. The headquarters location was announced as 240 Greenwich Street, a renaming of the already BNY Mellon-owned 101 Barclay Street office building in
Tribeca Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stre ...
,
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 ...
. BNY Mellon had owned the office building for over 30 years, with control of the location obtained via 99-year ground lease. The same year, the company purchased the location from the city for $352 million.


Historical data

The following graphs represent the net income and assets and liabilities for the years 2000 to 2016 for the Bank of New York Mellon, the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation's New York state-chartered bank and an FDIC-insured depository institution. File:AssetsandLiabilities2000to2016.png, Assets and Liabilities 2000–2016 File:AssetsandLiabilitiesRatio2000to2016.png, Assets/Liabilities Ratio (%) 2000–2016 File:NetIncome2000to2016.png, Net Income 2000–2016 (in millions)


Operations

BNY Mellon operates in 35 countries in the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
,
Europe, the Middle East and Africa EMEA is a shorthand designation meaning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The acronym is used by institutions and governments, as well as in marketing and business when referring to this region: it is a shorthand way of referencing the two ...
(EMEA), and
Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...
. The company employed 51,300 people as of December 2018. In October 2015, the group's American and global headquarters relocated to 225 Liberty Street, as the former
1 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 ...
building was sold in 2014. In July 2018, the company changed its headquarters again, this time to its existing 240 Greenwich Street location in New York (previously addressed 101 Barclay St). The group's EMEA headquarters are located in London and its Asia-Pacific headquarters are located in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.


Business

The bank's primary functions are managing and servicing the
investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
s of institutions and
high-net-worth individual High-net-worth individual (HNWI) is a term used by some segments of the financial services industry to designate persons whose investible wealth (assets such as stocks and bonds) exceeds a given amount. Typically, these individuals are defined ...
s. Its two primary businesses are Investment Services and Investment Management. The bank's clients include 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. The company also serves 77 percent of the top 100 endowments, 87 percent of the top 1,000 pension and employee benefit funds, 51 percent of the top 200 life and health insurance companies and 50 percent of the top 50 universities.


Investment Services

The bank's
Investment Services Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
business represents approximately 72 percent of the company's revenue and it has $31.1 trillion under its custody or administration as of September 2016. The
financial services Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...
offered by the business include asset servicing,
alternative investment An alternative investment, also known as an alternative asset or alternative investment fund (AIF), is an investment in any asset class excluding stocks, bonds, and cash. The term is a relatively loose one and includes tangible assets such as ...
services,
broker-dealer In financial services, a broker-dealer is a natural person, company or other organization that engages in the business of trading securities for its own account or on behalf of its customers. Broker-dealers are at the heart of the securities and d ...
services,
corporate trust In the most basic sense of the term, A corporate trust is a trust created by a corporation. The term in the United States is most often used to describe the business activities of many financial services companies and banks that act in a fiducia ...
services and
treasury services Treasury services is a function of an investment bank which provides transaction, investment, and information services for chief financial officers or treasurers. Treasury services concentrates and invests client money, and provides trade fina ...
. Other offerings include global collateral services,
foreign exchange The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all as ...
,
securities lending In finance, securities lending or stock lending refers to the lending of securities by one party to another. The terms of the loan will be governed by a "Securities Lending Agreement", which requires that the borrower provides the lender with c ...
, middle and back office outsourcing, and
depository receipt A depositary receipt (DR) is a negotiable financial instrument issued by a bank to represent a foreign company's publicly traded securities. The depositary receipt trades on a local stock exchange. Depositary receipts facilitates buying shares in ...
s. The company's subsidiary
Pershing LLC Pershing LLC is an American clearing house. Formed in 1939, Pershing became a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon in 2003. Pershing has nearly $1.9 trillion in assets under administration. The Bank of New York Mellon has more than $35.5 t ...
handles securities services, including execution, settlement, and clearing. It also provides back office support to financial advisors. In 2014, the company formed a new Markets Group, which offers
collateral management Collateral has been used for hundreds of years to provide security against the possibility of payment default by the opposing party in a trade. Collateral management began in the 1980s, with Bankers Trust and Salomon Brothers taking collateral again ...
, securities finance,
foreign exchange The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all as ...
and
capital market A capital market is a financial market in which long-term debt (over a year) or equity-backed securities are bought and sold, in contrast to a money market where short-term debt is bought and sold. Capital markets channel the wealth of savers t ...
s. The group is now known as BNY Mellon Markets.


Investment Management


Wealth Management

BNY Mellon's
Wealth Management Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high- ...
unit handles the private banking, estate planning,
family office A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50-$100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer w ...
services, and investment servicing and management of high-net-worth individuals and families. As of 2014, it ranks 7th among wealth management businesses in the United States. Starting in 2013, the unit began expansion efforts, including opening eight new banking offices, increasing salespeople, bankers, and portfolio managers on staff, and launching an awareness campaign for wealth management services through television ads.


Leadership

Charles W. Scharf Charles "Charlie" W. Scharf (born April 24, 1965) is an American investment banker and business executive who serves as the chief executive officer and president of Wells Fargo. He was previously the CEO of Visa Inc. and The Bank of New York Mello ...
was appointed CEO in July 2017 and became Chairman after former CEO and Chairman Gerald Hassell retired at the end of 2017. Hassell had been Chairman and CEO since 2011, after serving as BNY Mellon's president from 2007 to 2012 and as the president of the Bank of New York from 1998 until its merger. Scharf stepped down in 2019 to become the new CEO of Wells Fargo. Thomas "Todd" Gibbons served as BNY Mellon's CEO from 2020 to 2022. Robin Vince took over as the new CEO in 2022. Karen Peetz served as president (the bank's first female president) from 2013 to 2016, when she retired; the company did not appoint a new president when she retired. Thomas Gibbons served as CFO between 2008 and 2017, when he also served as vice chairman. In 2017, Gibbons was replaced as CFO by Michael P. Santomassimo. BNY Mellon's Investment Management business is run by CEO Mitchell Harris, and the company's Investment Services business was led by Brian Shea until his retirement in December 2017. As of July 2017, the company's board members were Linda Z. Cook, Nicholas M. Donofrio, Joseph J. Echevarria, Edward P. Garden,
Jeffrey A. Goldstein Jeffrey A. Goldstein (born 1955) is a United States economist who was Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance from March 27, 2010, to 2011. Jeffrey is currently the chairman of the board of directors of Fidelity National Information Se ...
, Gerald L. Hassell, John M. Hinshaw, Edmund F. (Ted) Kelly,
John A. Luke Jr. John A. Luke Jr. is an American businessman. He serves as chairman and CEO of the MeadWestvaco Corporation. Education Luke attended The Hotchkiss School and then Lawrence University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1971. He attended the ...
, Jennifer Morgan, Mark A. Nordenberg, Elizabeth E. Robinson, Charles W. Scharf and Samuel C. Scott III.


Company culture

In 2008, BNY Mellon formed a Board of Directors corporate social responsibility committee to set sustainability goals. The company's
corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...
activities include
philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
,
social finance Social finance is a category of financial services which aims to leverage private capital to address challenges in areas of social and environmental need. Having gained popularity in the aftermath of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, it is notable f ...
in the communities the bank is located in, and protecting financial markets globally. The bank's
philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
activities include financial donations and volunteerism. The company matches employee volunteer hours and donations with financial contributions through its Community Partnership program. Between 2010 and 2012, the company and its employees donated approximately $100 million to charity. In 2014, the company worked with the
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
Fund to create a platform that connects
nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
s with private businesses to solve social challenges. The company received a 100 A rating in 2013, 2014 and 2015 by the CDP, which measures corporate greenhouse gas emissions and disclosures. BNY Mellon was named on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and the World Index in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Another one of the company's focuses has been building efficiency. As of 2014, the company has saved $48 million due to building efficiency. Five of its buildings have achieved
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
(LEED-EB) certification and 23 have interiors that are LEED certified. The company has business resource groups for employees that are focused on diversity and inclusion. In 2009, Karen Peetz co-founded the BNY Mellon Women's Initiative Network (WIN), a resource group for female employees' professional development. As of 2013, WIN had 50 chapters. Other groups include PRISM for
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...
employees, IMPACT, which serves multicultural employees and HEART for employees with disabilities. The bank has services for returning military, including a tool to help veterans align military skills and training with jobs at the company. In 2014, it was recognized for its diversity practices by the National Business Inclusion Consortium, which named it Financial Services Diversity Corporation of the Year. In 2009, the company began an innovation program for employees to suggest ideas for large-scale projects and company improvement. Ideas from the initial pilot program generated approximately $165 million in pretax profit. The program results in an annual contest called "ACE" in which teams pitch their ideas.


Controversies and legal issues


Foreign currency exchange issues

In October 2011, the U.S. Justice Department and New York's attorney general filed civil lawsuits against the Bank of New York, alleging foreign currency fraud. The suits held that the bank deceived pension-fund clients by manipulating the prices assigned to them for foreign currency transactions. Allegedly, the bank selected the day's lowest rates for currency sales and highest rates for purchases, appropriating the difference as corporate profit. The scheme was said to have generated $2 billion for the bank, at the expense of millions of Americans' retirement funds, and to have transpired over more than a decade. Purportedly, the bank would offer secret pricing deals to clients who raised concerns, in order to avoid discovery. Bank of New York defended itself vigorously, maintaining the fraud accusations were "flat out wrong" and warning that as the bank employed 8,700 employees in New York, any damage to the bank would have negative repercussions for the state of New York. Finally, in March 2015, the company admitted to facts concerning the misrepresentation of foreign exchange pricing and execution. BNY Mellon's alleged misconduct in this area includes representing pricing as best rates to its clients, when in fact they were providing clients with bad prices while retaining larger margins. In addition to dismissing key executives, the company agreed to pay a total of US$714 million to settle related lawsuits. In May 2015, BNY Mellon agreed to pay $180 million to settle a foreign exchange-related lawsuit. In May 2016, multiple plaintiffs filed suit against the bank, alleging that the company had breached its fiduciary duty to ERISA plans that held American Depositary Receipts by overcharging retirement plans that invested in foreign securities. In March 2017, the presiding judge declined to dismiss the suit. In December 2017, another lawsuit alleged that BNY Mellon manipulated foreign exchange rates was filed by Sheet Metal Workers' National Pension Fund. BNY Mellon agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle the 2016 lawsuit in December 2018.


Personal data breach

In February 2008, BNY Mellon suffered a security breach resulting in the loss of personal information when backup tapes containing the personal records of 4.5 million individuals went missing. Social security numbers and bank account information were included in the records. The breach was not reported to the authorities until May 2008, and letters were sent to those affects on May 22, 2008. In August 2008, the number of affected individuals was raised to 12.5 million, 8 million more than originally thought.


IT system outages

On Saturday, August 22, 2015, BNY Mellon's SunGard accounting system broke down during a software change. This led to the bank being unable to calculate net asset value (NAV) for 1,200 mutual funds via automated computer system. Between the breakdown and the eventual fix, the bank calculated the values using alternative means, such as manual operation staff. By Wednesday, August 26, the system was still not fully operational. The system was finally operational to regular capacity the following week. As a result of a Massachusetts Securities Division investigation into the company's failure and lack of a backup plan, the company paid $3 million. In December 2016, another major technology issue caused BNY Mellon to be unable to process payments related to the
SWIFT Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...
network. As of the time of the issue, the bank processed about 160,000 global payments daily totally an average of $1.6 trillion. The company was unable to process payments for a 19 hours, which led to a backlog of payments and an extension of
Fedwire Fedwire (formerly known as the Federal Reserve Wire Network) is a real-time gross settlement funds transfer system operated by the United States Federal Reserve Banks that allows financial institutions to electronically transfer funds between its ...
payment services.


Privately owned public space agreement violation

According to a
New York City Comptroller The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...
audit in April 2017, BNY Mellon was in violation of a privately owned public space (POPS) agreement for at least 15 years. In constructing the 101 Barclay Street building in
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
, BNY Mellon had received a permit allowing modification of height and setback regulations in exchange for providing a lobby accessible to the general public 24 hours a day. Auditors and members of the public had been unable to access or assess the lobby for many years, and were actively prevented from doing so by BNY Mellon security. In September 2018, the company began to permit public access to a portion of the lobby. However, BNY Mellon remains in violation of its agreement, as the lobby must be accessible to the public 24 hours a day. As of early 2021 the city Comptroller reported that company security personnel prevented auditors from entering or photographing the lobby and was seeking to have the "public lobby" designation removed.


Employment legal issues

BNY Mellon settled foreign bribery charges with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
(SEC) in August 2015 regarding its practice of providing internships to relatives of officials at a Middle Eastern investment fund. The U.S. SEC found the firm in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The case was settled for $14.8 million. In March 2019, BNY Mellon staff considered legal options after the company banned employees from working from home. In particular, staff cited concerns regarding the impact on childcare, mental health, and diversity. The company reverted the ban as a result of employee outcry.


Other legal issues

In September 2009, BNY Mellon settled a lawsuit that had been filed against the Bank of New York by the Russian government in May 2007 for
money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
; the original suit claimed $22.5 billion in damages and was settled for $14 million. In 2011,
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
sued BNY Mellon for allegedly failing to adhere to the investment guidelines relating to the state's pension fund. The company settled with the state in June 2013 for $34 million. In July 2012, BNY Mellon settled a class action lawsuit relating to the collapse of Sigma Finance Corp. The suit alleged that the bank invested and lost cash collateral in medium-term notes. The company settled the lawsuit for $280 million. In December 2018, BNY Mellon agreed to pay nearly $54 million to settle charges of improper handling of "pre-released" American depositary receipts (ADRs) under investigation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). BNY Mellon did not admit or deny the investigation findings but agreed to pay disgorgement of more than $29.3 million, $4.2 million in prejudgment interest and a penalty of $20.5 million.


Recognition and rankings

As of 2015, BNY Mellon was the world's largest custody bank, the sixth-largest investment management firm in the world, and the seventh-largest wealth management firm in the United States. In 2018, BNY Mellon ranked 175 on the
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
and 250 on the
Financial Times Global 500 The FT Global 500 is an annual snapshot of the world's largest companies to show how corporate fortunes have changed in the past year, highlighting relative performance of countries and sectors. The companies are ranked by market capitalization. The ...
. It was named one of world's 50 Safest Banks by '' Global Finance'' in 2013 and 2014, and one of the 20 Most Valuable Banking Brands in 2014 by ''
The Banker ''The Banker'' is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by ''The Financial Times'' Ltd. and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding Editor, Brend ...
''. The bank says it is the longest running bank in the United States, a distinction sometimes disputed by its rivals and some historians. The
Bank of North America The Bank of North America was the first chartered bank in the United States, and served as the country's first ''de facto'' central bank. Chartered by the Congress of the Confederation on May 26, 1781, and opened in Philadelphia on January 7, 17 ...
was chartered in 1781, and was absorbed by a series of other entities until it was acquired by
Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
. Similarly, The Massachusetts Bank went through a series of acquisitions and ended up as part of
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 ...
. The Bank of New York remained independent, absorbing other companies, until its merger with Mellon. BNY Mellon is at least the third-oldest bank in the US.


Sponsorships

Since 2012, BNY Mellon has expanded its number of sponsorships. BNY Mellon was the title sponsor of the
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...
from 2012 to 2015. The company also sponsors the
Head of the Charles Regatta The Head of the Charles Regatta, also known as HOCR, is a rowing head race held on the penultimate complete weekend of October (i.e., on the Friday that falls between the 16th and the 22nd of the month, and on the Saturday and Sunday immedia ...
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 ...
. In 2013, the company became a 10-year sponsor of the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
and a founding partner of
Levi's Stadium Levi's Stadium is an American football stadium located in Santa Clara, California, just outside San Jose in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has served as the home venue for the National Football League (NFL)'s San Francisco 49ers since 2014. T ...
. The company is a regular sponsor of the
Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
in London.


See also

*
1 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 ...
* BNY Mellon Center (disambiguation) *
CIBC Mellon CIBC Mellon was founded in 1996 as a joint venture between the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (hereafter CIBC) and the Mellon Financial Corporation (now The Bank of New York Mellon) (hereafter Mellon) to offer asset servicing to institutio ...
*
Eagle Investment Systems Eagle Investment Systems is an American global provider of financial services technology and a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon, BNY Mellon. Founded in 1989 and based in Wellesley, Massachusetts, Wellesley, Massachusetts, Eagle has 15 o ...
*
Mellon Financial Corporation Mellon Financial Corporation was an investment firm which was once one of the world's largest money management firms. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it was in the business of institutional and high-net-worth individual asset management, inc ...
*
Pershing LLC Pershing LLC is an American clearing house. Formed in 1939, Pershing became a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon in 2003. Pershing has nearly $1.9 trillion in assets under administration. The Bank of New York Mellon has more than $35.5 t ...


Notes


References


Books

* *


External links

*
Pershing LLC., a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation
* /www.youtube.com/bnym225years 225th Anniversary Commemorative Video
iNautix Technologies, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon

New York Life Insurance and Trust Company Records
at Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bank Of New York Mellon Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange 2007 establishments in New York City Banks based in New York City Systemically important financial institutions Companies based in Manhattan American companies established in 2007 Banks established in 2007 Multinational companies based in New York City Publicly traded companies based in New York City