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Mellon Financial Corporation was an investment firm which was once one of the world's largest money management firms. Based in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylv ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...
, it was in the business of institutional 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 ...
asset management, including the Dreyfus family of
mutual fund A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV ...
s, business
banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
, and
shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal ow ...
and
investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Typ ...
services. On December 4, 2006, it announced a
merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
agreement 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 Finan ...
, to form
BNY Mellon 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 Finan ...
. After regulatory and shareholder approval, the banks completed the merger on July 2, 2007.


History

Mellon was opened in January 1870 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 Mello ...
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, Pennsylva ...
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 ...
, as T. Mellon & Sons' Bank. In 1902, the institution became Mellon National Bank. Mellon Bank was an important force in the mass production revolution in the United States, especially in the
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
. The Mellon family using the bank as a proxy had direct involvement with founding the modern aluminium, oil, consumer electronics and financial industries.
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 ...
,
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 ...
(now Chevron-Texaco), Westinghouse (now
CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and t ...
and Siemens) and Rockwell, all were directly founded and managed by the bank.
U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...
(the world's first billion dollar corporation),
Heinz The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contine ...
,
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...
,
Koppers Koppers is a global chemical and materials company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States in an art-deco 1920s skyscraper, the Koppers Tower. Structure Koppers is an integrated global producer of carbon compounds, chemicals, and tr ...
and
ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 3 ...
(as Rockefeller's Standard Oil) were born and nurtured by Mellon. In 1920, Andrew left his leadership post of the bank to become the longest serving U.S. Treasury Secretary in history (serving under three separate administrations). In 1929, Richard founded Mellbank Corporation. In 1946, Mellon National, Mellbank, and the Union Trust Company merged to form Mellon National Bank and Trust Company. A reorganization in 1972 brought about a name change to Mellon Bank, N.A. and the formation of a holding company, Mellon National Corporation. In 1983, Mellon bought
Girard Bank Girard Bank was a Philadelphia-based bank founded after the death of Stephen Girard in 1831 by local merchants eager to trade on the sterling reputation of their namesake. Stephen Girard neither founded the bank, nor had any financial ties to the ...
of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
and Central Counties Bank of
State College, Pennsylvania State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...
. The next year, Mellon National Corporation became Mellon Bank Corporation, and purchased Northwest Pennsylvania Corporation of
Oil City, Pennsylvania Oil City is a city in Venango County, Pennsylvania known for its prominence in the initial exploration and development of the petroleum industry. It is located at a bend in the Allegheny River at the mouth of Oil Creek. Initial settlement of Oi ...
. In 1986, Mellon bought Commonwealth National Financial of
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in P ...
. It is also reported that Mellon operated the 2nd largest financial computing system in the world. In 1991, Mellon bought United Penn Bank of
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the seco ...
. The next year, Mellon bought 54 branch offices of Philadelphia-based Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, whose parent company had become insolvent. Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, was the first savings bank in the United States, founded in 1819. In 1993, Mellon bought The Boston Company from American Express and AFCO Credit Corporation from The Continental Corporation. The next year, Mellon merged with the
Dreyfus Corporation Dreyfus is an American investment management company that deals with investment products and strategies. It was established in 1951 and is currently headquartered in New York City. Dreyfus currently is a subsidiary of BNY Mellon Investment Man ...
, bringing its mutual funds under its umbrella. 1998 saw Mellon's purchase of United Bankshares, Inc., of
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...
, 1st Business Bank of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and Founders Asset Management. In 1999, Martin G. McGuinn became chairman and chief executive officer of Mellon Bank Corporation. Mellon Bank Corporation then became Mellon Financial Corporation. Two years later, it sold its
retail banking Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking. Banking ser ...
operations 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, Pennsy ...
. In 2004, Mellon announced it would purchase Safeco Trust Company from
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...
-based
Safeco Corporation Safeco Insurance, a member of Liberty Mutual Group, is an American insurance company. It held the naming rights to the Seattle Mariners' baseball stadium Safeco Field from its opening in 1999 through the end of the 2018 season. History Safec ...
. The same year, it purchased outstanding shares in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
-based Pareto Partners and offered them floor space in Mellon Financial Centre (opened earlier in the year). In February 2020, Mellon announced that it has successfully onboarded Liontrust Asset Management to its new Investment Operations platform.


Merger with Bank of New York

In 2006, Mellon announced its plans to merge with Bank of New York. Talks began when Tom Renyi approached Robert Kelly about a possible amalgamation between the Bank of New York and Mellon Financial Corporation. The $16.5 billion deal ($ billion today) was announced in December 2006 and finalized on July 1, 2007, with Kelly as the
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(CEO) of the new company, and Renyi as executive chairman. Per the deal, the new
Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
is composed of ten directors appointed by the Bank of New York, and eight by Mellon. The merger was completed July 1, 2007, as
The Bank of New York Mellon 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 Finan ...
. Headquartered in New York, it is the world's largest securities servicing firm and one of the world's top ten asset managing firms. The new venture launched its brand identity on October 1, 2007. These two companies, along with State Street, followed essentially the same evolution. All were originally large diversified financial service providers, particularly in the corporate banking space in the regions they were located in. However, competition in the corporate loans and retail banking businesses saw them jettison these operations in favor of what were believed to be more stable, fee based business:
asset management Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of value from the things that a group or entity is responsible for, over their whole life cycles. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as buildings ...
(i.e.
investment management Investment management is the professional asset management of various securities, including shareholdings, bonds, and other assets, such as real estate, to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of investors. Investors may be institut ...
in the form of mutual funds and other
separately managed account In the investment management industry, a separately managed account (SMA) is any of several different types of investment accounts. For example, an SMA may be an individual managed investment account; these are often offered by a brokerage firm th ...
s) and asset servicing (i.e. corporate trust, stock transfer services and depository receipts). Mellon is a large provider of what are known as controlled disbursement accounts. These are checking accounts in specialized locations which are given early warning by the Federal Reserve as to what checks will be clearing them. Companies can then transfer the exact amount needed to pay those checks, while then investing the unneeded money or using other funds to pay down debt.


Mellon Bank CEOs

* Robert E. Kelly (February 13, 2006 – July 1, 2007) * Martin G. McGuinn (January 1, 1999 – February 13, 2006) * Frank Cahouet (April 13, 1987 – January 1, 1999) * J. David Barnes (March 1, 1981 – April 13, 1987) * James H. Higgins (August 1, 1974 – March 1, 1981) * John A. Mayer (February 8, 1963 – August 1, 1974) * Frank R. Denton (1946 – February 8, 1963)


References


External links


www.bnymellon.com


* ttps://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20060725183124/http://www.mellon.com/pressreleases/2004/pdf/pr060804b.pdf Mellon Financial Centre, London {{Pittsburgh Corporations Financial services companies established in 1869 Financial services companies disestablished in 2007 1869 establishments in Pennsylvania BNY Mellon Defunct banks of the United States Companies based in Pittsburgh Investment management companies of the United States

2007 mergers and acquisitions